Image Courtesy: news18.com
After a masked mob attacked the students and teachers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi late on January 5, in which more than 25 people, including JNU student union President Aishe Ghosh was brutally injured, students all over India came to the streets to condemn the horrific incident.
Students from various educational institutions in Mumbai gathered at the Gateway of India to protest against the attack that was allegedly perpetrated by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The ‘Occupy Gateway’ movement was soon on its feet, with protestors calling for ‘Chalo Gateway’ to condemn the police and administration inaction during the JNU attack last night.
They raised slogans against the ABVP, demanding that the Centre take action against the attackers for brutally injuring people and defacing JNU property. Noted celebrities like Nandita Das, Monica Dogra, Kunal Kamra and student leader Umar Khalid were also present at the protest till sunrise.
The spontaneous protest that went organically viral, after calls for solidarity with the JNU students poured in, saw people trickling in by the minute. Soon, hundreds of people were at the site, singing ‘Hum Dekhenge’ by Faiz, which has become one of the most famous songs of dissent to oppose the dictatorial decisions of the ruling government.
From Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ to Neimoller’s ‘First they came for the socialists’, the protestors peacefully recited poems, some even written by them, and raised slogans through the night to condemn the ‘dark days’ that had befallen India’s democracy.
The protest that started at around 12:30 P.M. last night, saw at least 500 – 800 people staging a peaceful sit in. Students from the Mumbai University (MU) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) among others are making sure that the call for justice doesn’t lose its voice and are urging people through social media to join in their campaign against the JNU attack.
At the hour of writing this too, people are constantly trickling in, to show their support for the students of JNU. While the Mumbai police has maintained a tight vigil in the area, there has been no untoward incident reported and the movement is only set to grow from strength to strength as the day progresses.
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