Silencing voices with force will turn students against India: Akash Chopra

Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra on Monday said images of students clashing with police at various institutions over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are deeply disturbing and crushing voices of dissent will only turn the agitators against India.

The 42-year-old former batsman, who played 10 Tests for India, took to Twitter to express his concern.

"Deeply disturbing visuals from educational institutions across the country. Teary eyed. They are one of us. These kids are the future of this country. We don't make India great by silencing their voices with the use of force. You'll only turn them against India," Chopra wrote on his twitter handle.

Anger over the police crackdown in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia and at the CAA was visible across many campuses in the country on Monday and protests were seen from Kerala to West Bengal and Telangana to Uttar Pradesh as the day progressed.

Thousands of students took to the streets demanding a probe into the use of teargas inside the Jamia university's library as well as police entering the campus without permission from university authorities.

Several states in the north-east and West Bengal have been rocked by violent protests over the Act, which seeks to provide citizenship to non-muslim religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.