Heavy police presence and inclement weather ensured that Friday passed off peacefully in Aligarh, Deoband and Saharanpur. Internet services remained suspended all through the day as hundreds of students and teachers of the Aligarh Muslim University and followers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind submitted memorandum against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 to district officials in Aligarh and Saharanpur respectively.
Aftab Alam, professor of political science, who participated in the protest, said it was not a Hindu-Muslim issue.
“If we see it like that, we would fall into the ‘trap’ of the BJP. It is a constitutional issue that would affect everybody in the long run. This is what they want — polarise. Those who are protesting against the Act in Assam and Kerala are not Muslims,” he said.
‘Modi to Shah era’
Dr. Alam said the CAB issue also suggested a shift in the BJP from “the Modi era to the Shah era.” “Now, Shah is the new hawk and Modi is trying to be a dove.”
Faizy Usmani, a student in Deoband, said the government was testing the “patience” of Muslims, by bringing up one issue after another that would divide the society. “Should we study and look for jobs or start looking for documents that would prove our citizenship,” he asked.
“The Hindu who runs the neighbourhood grocery store says that 90% of his business comes from Muslims. Will he not be affected if Muslims lose their Indian identity,” he wondered.
In Aligarh, hundreds of students took out a march after the Friday prayers. They crossed the barricades placed at the university gate but were again stopped at the University Circle where the District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh received the memorandum.
Addressed to the Chief Justice of India, the memorandum said since the Parliament had failed to save the Constitution in this case, the Chief Justice’s office should rise to the occasion and save the spirit of the Constitution.
“We fear that if it is not stopped by the judiciary, it may lead to the conversion of India into a Hindu State,” said Salman Imtiaz, the president of the outgoing AMUSU.
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