In yet another incident of gun-violence at New Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia University (JMIU), two gunmen opened fire outside gate number 5. Luckily the men only shot in the air and no one was injured, but it is clear that their intention was to spread fear.

At 11:50 PM, the Jamia Coordination Committee issued the following sort statement:

“Firing has been done at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing Red Jacket and driving a Red Scooty having Vehicle no. 1532. No injury as far now.”

DCP (Southeast) Gyanesh Kumar told India Today, “SHO Jamia Nagar along with his team went to the place and searched the area. No empty bullet shells were found there. Also, there were different versions regarding the vehicles on which the alleged miscreants were. Some saying it was a scooter, others saying it was a four-wheeler. Meanwhile, many people, including students, have gathered outside the police station. They will be asked to give their complaint. We will conduct an enquiry and accordingly take action as per law.” Kumar has just replaced Chinmoy Biswal who was shunted out after the latest case of firing.

This is the second such incident at Jamia. On Thursday, a youth who is said to be a minor, opened fire at protesters who were planning to march to Raj Ghat on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. One young man was injured in the firing. However, the Hindu Mahasabha sprung to his defense saying they would not only felicitate the gunman, but also bear his legal expenses.

Earlier there were two separate incidents involving gunmen at Shaheen Bagh, the location of a sit-in protest by women. In the first instance a man brandished a firearm but was quickly subdued by bystanders before he could open fire. In the second, yet another gunman opened fire after making deeply communal statements. This man identified as Kapil was taken into police custody, and luckily nobody was injured in the incident.

It is noteworthy, that these instances of gun related violence all began after BJP leader Anurag Thakur gave a virtual clarion call to arms encouraging people attending his election rally to “shoot the traitors”. What is truly chilling though is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s complete silence on the issue. He is yet to utter one word condemning the violence, something that could be viewed by some as a tacit act of complicity.  

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Even since the President gave his assent to the new citizenship law, the resistance movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has grown, and the charge is being led by university students. But they have been punished for their bravery with police brutality that has been inflicted upon them with impunity with full blessings of a proto-fascist regime.

Delhi: When it comes to anti-CAA students protests, the one on December 16 at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU) is perhaps the worst example of police brutality. Soon students from JNU and DU joined to express solidarity with their fellow students. Many DU students boycotted exams and hundreds even turned up outside the police headquarters to protest peacefully despite the biting cold. Students of Delhi IIT, AIIMS, Maulana Azad Medical College, Ambedkar University and National Law University also followed suit. Multiple peaceful protests have taken place across Delhi despite the administration trying to play spoilsport with tactics like strategic shut-down of Metro stations, internet and insinuations that protests had been infiltrated by ‘vested interests’ and terrorists.

Aligarh: The students of Aligarh Muslim University first held a protest on December 13 that was peaceful and passed without any incident of violence. But on December 16, when students spontaneously came together after the attack on JMIU to express solidarity with Jamia students facing police brutality, they faced a similar crackdown themselves.   

Banaras: In a show of solidarity with their fellow students from JMIU and AMU, students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) also held peaceful protests demanding justice for those facing police brutality.

Hyderabad: Students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University were among the first to express solidarity with students at JMIU and AMU. They were then joined by students of Osmania University and University of Hyderabad.

Mumbai: A series of protests were held in Mumbai, from one outside Mumbai University, to one at August Kranti Maidan that saw not just students but also people from all walks of life come together to defend the country’s secular and democratic values, to a protest at Carter Road in Bandra, to sporadic smaller protests in Kurla and other places across Mumbai. Students from TISS, IIT, Mumbai University, and many other private institutions have been at the forefront of anti-CAA protests.

Pune: In Pune, the charge was led by students of Savitri Bai Phule University. They held an hour-long sit-in protest on December 17 to express solidarity with JMIU students who had faced police brutality the previous evening.

Kolkata: Kolkata is no stranger to student protests with memories of the protest against Amit Shah and the subsequent attack on the Vidyasagar statue in the university campus still fresh in the minds of many. But even amidst the rather violent protests that have erupted across West Bengal, at least one of which involving pelting stones at trains was found to be triggered by BJP workers wearing skull caps, student protests at Jadhavpur University, Aliah University and Presidency College passed without relative turbulence.

Assam: Things turned ugly at Guwahati’s hostels where on December 12, 2019, the paramilitary forces laid siege to the Cotton University hostel, Guwahati University and Assam Engineering College hostels, and imprisoning students in the premises. Student of Tezpur University, Assam University and Dhibrugarh University also protested the CAA. There have been verbal accounts by locals in Tezpur saying that the Army has exercised its power against women, dragging them by their hair portraying their sheer brutality.

Bengaluru: In Bengaluru the charge was led by the students of the Indian Institute of Science and Jain University.

Chennai: There was a huge outpouring of students at protests in Chennai. These included students from IIT Madras, Loyola College, Mohammed Sathak College and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development.

Puducherry: Students of University of Pondicherry also protested peacefully. In fact, they have decided to boycott convocation presided over by President Ramnath Kovind.

Kerala: Students from Central University (Kasargod), CUSAT (Kochi), Calicut University (Mallapuram) and MG University (Kottayam) also held a series of peaceful protests to not only express solidarity with their fellow protesting students across India, but also against the unconstitutional CAA.

Itanagar: Students of the Rajiv Gandhi University and NERIST also held peaceful protests against CAA. They led a huge rally from the university campus to Rajbhavan protesting the CAA.

Lucknow: Protests also took place in Lucknow with students from Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema College and Lucknow University thronging the streets condemning the violence against students at JMIU and AMU.

Others: Students from Patna University, Chandigarh University, Panjab University, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, IIT Kanpur, Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, IIM Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad University and Nirma University have also held protests.  

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