Mumbai: In response to institutes warning and disallowing students from participating in protests on the campus, students claim they need to exercise their right to freedom of expression, as campuses are a place resonating unity where all youngsters share ideas. Students of major institutions like the Mumbai University (MU), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Deonar claim that for them, it’s not about politics or anti-national activities, it is about “standing in solidarity against the violence meted out to our fellow students.”
Protest to detest violence against students
Students revealed the focus of their protest is intolerance towards the violence against peers at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU). Arpita Chatterjee, a student said, “We started protesting on the campus and took to the streets only after the JNU incident where there was a sudden brutal attack on students. We did not protest before that defaming any political party or any government or leader. We came out of our classrooms and stood out in protest on the campus only when our fellow counterparts were beaten.”
Do institutes understand violence against students?
Students claim institutes should stand in support of one another instead of turning a blind eye. Rajwal Dixit, a student, said, “What happened at JNU was rampant and completely inappropriate. Those students were protesting over a fee hike and they were brutally beaten. Educational institutes should stand against such violent acts and support each other in times of distress.”
Campus resonates unity
We began protesting on campus because that is a place where all students meet and share ideas, claim students. Janice Lobo, a student said, “We staged protests on campus because that is the place where we all meet and share ideas. The institutes and universities are telling us not to protest on campus, then where should we go? Campus is the place where all students spend most of their time.”
We will not tolerate another JNU like incident
Students claim the institutes can warn us but they cannot silent us. Jameel Zafri, a student, said, “The institutes can warn us but they cannot stop us. As students, we do not want to disturb the peaceful academic atmosphere but it does not mean that we will tolerate any kind of violence against us.”
