Students, Alumni Of Symbiosis, ILS, GNLU, NUJS, NLUJ & TNNLU Condemn Police Action Against Aligarh And Jamia Students [Read Statements]

The students and alumni of the Gujarat National Law University, Symbiosis International University, Indian Law Society's Law College, Pune, National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, National Law University, Jodhpur and Tamil Nadu National Law University have issued statements condemning police actions against students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University, who were protesting against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act.They have urged the courts to take cognizance and order an independent inquiry into the police acts against protesting students.GNLU's StatementExtending their support to demonstrators across the nation, particularly Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Aligarh and Delhi, the students and alumni of GNLU said,"The state violence against protesting students - physical assault, use of tear-gas shells, lathi-charge, and forceful entry into their university premises - is not only brutalisation of students but an attack on the autonomy of universities as non-militarised spaces for freedom of thought and expression. We demand an immediate end to all forms of violence against the protesting students and call for a judicial enquiry to fix accountability for the violence."Symbiosis International University"The peaceful demonstration and gathering of citizens does not constitute a crime. The police action in the North East, Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU campuses is blatantly illegal under the constitution of India. The unbridled violence from those who are responsible to protect us and ensure law and order has a chilling effect on the democratic right of protest granted to the citizens of this country by its Constitution," the statement asserts.The statement has been signed by over 500 alumni and around 100 students.They also seek revocation of internet and social media black-out imposed across the country, specifically in Aligarh and North-Eastern India."We stand in solidarity with our fellow citizens in the north east, and students, faculty and staff of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, and express our horror at this violent police and state action. With them, we affirm the right of citizens to peaceful protest and the autonomy of the university as a non-militarized space for freedom of thought and expression. The brutalization of students, the attack on universities and violent suppression of citizens voices is against the fundamental norms of a democratic society and contrary to the idea of India," the statement read.ILS Law CollegeThe students, alumni and faculty of the Indian Law Society's Law College, Pune have condemned use of force against peaceful protestors, most of whom are students, in the following words,"We remind the state machinery that under our constitutional framework, the right to peaceful protest is safeguarded as a fundamental right under Part III. It ought not to come as a shock to the ruling establishments in various states where the protests are on-going that a vote is not a solemn declaration of irrevocable acceptance for all times to come. A vote is not a bargain for silence without dissent.We condemn the terrorizing of institutions of learning using the disproportionate weight of state machinery to stifle legitimate dissent. It is highly unbecoming of the state machinery to unleash violence on students. We stand in solidarity with the students who have suffered this indiscriminate brutality. We request the judiciary to take cognizance of these brutal acts by the state machinery and initiate an independent inquiry."NUJS' StatementOver 400 NUJS alumni have criticized the Act for being violative of India's International obligations, apart from the Indian Constitution. They said,"The collective impact of the CAA and NRC threatens the very fabric of India. It runs afoul of our constitutional principles, our obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the cornerstone of international refugee law-- the principle of non-refoulement. We view the CAA and its implementation with a strong sense of foreboding--one that may polarise our beloved nation beyond repair."Further supporting the student protesters, the statement read,"We also stand in solidarity with student communities and citizens across the country, who are peacefully voicing their opposition against CAA. We do not condone violence in protests, but we strongly condemn the brutality and disproportionate force used by law enforcement authorities in various parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to muzzle dissent, particularly in educational institutions. We demand that those responsible for such atrocities be held accountable under law."NLUJ's StatementThe alumni of NLUJ, while recognizing the importance of dissent in a democracy, condemned state-sponsored violence. Their statement read,"Attempts to silence dissent through militarization, police excesses and communication shutdowns, eliminates...

Students, Alumni Of Symbiosis, ILS, GNLU, NUJS, NLUJ & TNNLU Condemn Police Action Against Aligarh And Jamia Students [Read Statements]

Akshita Saxena

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