Two women who became the face of the Jamia Millia Islamia University protests shocked many when social media posts leading up protests written by one of them spoke about 'abandoning secularism'.
Their Facebook posts also suggest sympathy towards terrorists Afzal Guru and Burhan Vani, pointed out a Twitter user.
But the duo are unfazed.
Ladeeda Farzana and Aysha Renna were first noticed in a video where they, along with friends at Jamia took on the Delhi police. A photo of Aysha standing before a policeman and pointing her finger at him as she and the other women protect a young man from the Police's lathis has now become one of the defining moments of the protests.
But even as the first flurry of admiration struck, many rushed to view their social media profiles and find out more about the 'sheroes'. What they found however did not endear the duo to many people on social media.
There are several posts that have sparked the ire of social media users but that's a different article. For now, let us just pick out a few examples.
One particular post that has been widely circulated (and criticised) shows Aysha condemning the hanging of Yakub Memon and terming the government "fascist". Other posts, points out a Twitter user, seems to suggest sympathy towards terrorists such as Afzal Guru and Burhan Vani.
But what do they have to say on the topic? As they told The News Minute, they are both contemplating legal action.
Aysha does not see anything wrong with the post on Memon. "I am an Indian and my Constitution guarantees me freedom of expression. When an incident happens, people can have different opinions. When Yakub Memon was executed, many activists and others had recorded their opinions and disagreements, it was not just me,” she was quoted as saying.
Another much criticised post from 2017 showed women in hijab. One of the women was toting a gun, while the others engaged in stone pelting. Many on social media took it as proof of her belief in violence, but Ladeeda sees it differently -- as a representation of strength.
"I was a 19-year-old when I posted it. Don’t men share pictures of their heroes holding guns?” she asked.
"Ladeeda wants to start ISIS like group in India as per her posts. She declared herself as a hardcore Islamist & not secular. She has derided those who put on liberal mask & ask her not to chant Koranic verses," a Twitter user had earlier alleged.
Ladeeda says that like everyone, she too has an opinion that she has shared. But to portray those opinions as being extremist is a "fascist tactic" she says.
She insists that some of her posts have also been misinterpreted deliberately and that she only wants a "government that abides by the Indian Constitution".
All my actions are to ensure that I question the injustice being meted out," she adds.
"They tell women to stay at home and not speak up, but speak up we must. Nobody can take our voice," the 22-year-old Ayesha Renna and Ladeeda Farzana had told Barkha Dutt in an interview soon after the protests.
Indeed, based on their social media accounts and from interviews that they have given, it would seem that the duo remain true to that sentiment.
To recap the Delhi protests over the weekend, a Delhi Police report to the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, said that a total of 67 people, including students, and 31 police personnel were injured on Sunday after demonstrators protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned the New Friends Colony area near Jamia Millia Islamia into a battleground.
The report, accessed by IANS, stated that a total 14 buses were burnt and damaged and 20 private vehicles were torched and smashed by the violent mob during the protest. It also stated that four two-wheelers were also torched by the mob.
(With inputs from agencies)
