New Delhi siyasat.net
When India is reeling through a grave and grim crisis as a result of the novel Corona virus, the “utterly inhuman and undemocratic” witch- hunting of Anti- CAA protesters is going in Delhi. More shocking is that a pregnant woman 27 years old Safoora Zargar is charged with Anti- terror law (UAPA) of being a key ” Conspirator” in last February Delhi riots. She is a research scholar from Jamia Millia Islamia(JMI) university. At present in this holy month of Ramdhan, she is in Tihar Jail.
Most recently, the Delhi police invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, who are both students of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi, along with Umar Khalid, a former student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Both Haider and Zargar were part of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC), a group of students and alumni from the university who spearheaded the anti-CAA protests in some parts of Delhi. The Act, which has been used liberally to crackdown on journalists and their right to expressions in India in the past, can land those charged in jail for up to seven years. At the moment, at least 50 other studentshave also been summoned by the Delhi police.
Jamia Millia Islamia University students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, have been arrested by the police for their alleged role in organising protests against the Citizenship Act. Clashes had broken out between the supporters of the law and those opposing it between February 23 and 26 in North East Delhi, killing 53 people and injuring hundreds. The police were accused of either inaction or complicity in some instances of violence, mostly in Muslim neighbourhoods. The violence was the worst Delhi saw since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
“The country right now is passing through a crisis as a result of the novel coronavirus and crossed more than a month long lockdown. People are all being asked to stay home and stay safe in order to break the chain of the deadly virus. But in the midst of such a grave situation, the Delhi Police arrested some students of Jamia Millia Islamia and several activists from localities of North East Delhi who participated in peaceful protests against the CAA.”
The Jamia Coordination Committee, a body of students who have been active since December 15, when protests started, had said that Haider and Zargar were visiting the area for relief work after the violence, and alleged that members of the minority community are being targeted.
According to media report and a letter written by prominent personalities, many more students and activists are being called for questioning by the police on daily basis and termed it a “twisted fairy tale”.
In fact the nationwide lockdown to tackle the coronavirus “cannot be a lockdown of the rights of citizens” and must not be “abused” by the authorities in such a manner. “A riot in which the minorities suffered the maximum damage, both in terms of lives and livelihoods, has now become a pretext for the Delhi Police to further witch-hunt activists, most of whom also come from the minority community,” signatories said in the letter.
it is now established that the actions of the police “utterly inhuman” and “undemocratic” amid the coronavirus outbreak. Making several people travel to police stations every day and then throwing some of them to jails also defeats the purpose of the lockdown and makes a mockery of social distancing, At a time when various governments are releasing under-trials from jail to relieve the pressure from the prisons and restrict chances of contamination. The Delhi Police is pushing students and activists into jail.”
it is time and again reported that the Constitution gives citizens the right to protest and express their views. “Many people in the country and the world had condemned the draconian Citizenship Amendment Act,. People opposition to the CAA continues, as it seems as a bigoted law that strikes at the secular fabric of our country. Every law abiding and justice seeking people condemn this witch-hunt of students and activists because they exercised their constitutional right to protest against CAA/NRC/NPR.
To fight the coronavirus pandemic, that the citizens and authorities need to stand by each other and not target activists. the Delhi Police should stop abusing the lockdown, respect the human rights of our fellow citizens and put an end to this witch-hunt. the release of these students and activists.
The timing of the police action has raised eyebrows, especially at a time when strict restrictions on the mobility and assembly of people are placed in the country because of the complete lockdown. “While the country is shut down fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the government is finding opportunities to detain and arrest students as they expect no resistance owing to lockdown,” Nabila Hasan, a Supreme Court advocate who is providing legal assistance to the students, told here.
This seems so planned and intentional,” Shabnam Hashmi, a New Delhi-based human rights activist told VICE. “They (the government) know getting a bail during this time is very difficult. Even civil society and other protesting people cannot assemble. This government is absolutely shameless.” Hashmi believes that the government is using all its draconian powers during a major international health crisis with the sole intention of silencing dissenting students. “The government is using lockdown to not only intimidate but also suppress all voices of dissent,” said Hashmi. “This is unprecedented and it feels like an undeclared emergency in the country.”
Many students are also accusing the government of targeting them and their universities because of their religious identity. “Scholars from institutions like JMI and AMU are deliberately being hounded for their Muslim identity. This is simply a move to terrorise us and warn us of repercussions if we won’t budge,” said Umar Ashraf, a student of development communications from JMI.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad,Gujarat based website)
(With Media input)
