Gujarat: People stage silent protest against CAA, in solidarity with JMI students

People including a large number of students on Tuesday staged a silent protest at Gandhi Ashram in Gandhinagar, against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA) and in solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI).

"I am from Ahmedabad and I believe that CAA alone might not look that bad but if combined with NRC, it is really bad as it affects a specific community. Whatever happened with the students in New Delhi day before yesterday is extremely wrong and students in several other universities are also unsafe so we are protesting silently here," said a student.

"We are silently protesting against CAA and NRC which together divide the country into caste and religion. Moreover, the way students of Jamia Millia Islamia were thrashed brutally is condemnable," said a protestor.

Another protestor told ANI that a particular 'religion' is being separated from other religions through NRC and CAA which is not written n our Constitution.

"Students of Jamia were thrashed inside the university which is their home, they study and live there. Who gave them (police) the right to go inside the university? They should find some other way," he added.

Another student here asserted that the way Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar fought, it has been nullified within one step.

"Whatever happened in Jami is not only unconstitutional but a clear violation of human rights. Students of other universities are standing in solidarity for their brothers and sisters irrespective of the caste, religion, and creed they belong to," said a student

"This movement is more about that the government is imposing signs of extremism and fascism. We, the educated students can clearly spot it. The way Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar fought, it has been nullified within one step," he added.

Protests intensified across the country after several students were left injured after a protest against the new citizenship law turned violent in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university area on Sunday.

The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.