A group of students of Aligarh Muslim University took out a protest march in support of Sharjeel Imam who was arrested on Tuesday in Bihar on charges of sedition and spreading communal hatred.
The arrest was made after a video of his speech, made on January 16 in AMU, went viral. The students argued that the statements he made were not seditious in nature and cited former Chief Justice Markandey Katju’s recent article where he disapproved of Mr. Imam’s speech, but also said it was not criminal in nature.
‘Student voices’
Salman Imtiaz, president of the Aligarh Muslim Students’ Union (2018-2019), said charging Mr. Imam, student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the former IITian with draconian laws like sedition and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, shows the insecurity of the government. “These laws are a colonial legacy and have no space in a democratic country. The BJP is fearing student voices and is abusing the laws to brutalise us,” he said.
Mr. Imtiaz said one might not agree with the usage of his words, but he had a right to express his views on civil disobedience aimed at forcing the government to roll back CAA, NRC and NPR.
“While we are critical of the usage of words by Mr. Imam, we stand by his side to save him from the draconian laws,” he added.
Mohammad Sajjad, professor of history at AMU, said Mr. Imam’s speech could be “objectionable, deplorable or debatable”, but it was not in the realm of sedition. “As a student, he should be allowed to experiment with ideas. The response to these adventures and misadventures should have come from the academic space.”
The Delhi police action, he said, was disproportionate if one compared it with the “inefficiency it showed in the case of JNU incident where hundreds of masked persons attacked the students”.
He also said the State and society should reflect upon why a section of society was feeling alienated and discriminated against. In the video where Mr. Imam could be heard asking people to cut off Assam from India, Prof. Sajjad said he felt he could be asking for “civil blockade”.
Citing certain writings of Mr. Imam which are in the public domain, Prof Sajjad said he could be playing into the hands of the Hindutva forces and that his speech could be harmful to the secular nature of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.
A large section of students disapproved of Mr. Imam. Sumaiyya Khan, a student of law faculty, said, “We should understand his approach is a threat to the secular fabric of the anti-CAA-NRC protest.”
Faizul Hasan, former AMUSU president, who was also charged with spreading religious enmity, also disapproved of the statement. “When I was charged with spreading hate, I addressed the media and clarified my stand,” he said.
Shafey Kidwai, the university spokesperson, said AMU administration would identify the protesters and organisers of the march and take appropriate action against them.
Exams boycotted
Meanwhile, students continued to boycott exams and classes on Tuesday and put locks on the gates of different faculties.
After a general body meeting, the students once again demanded the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar.
“We know we are risking our careers, but none of us have the moral courage to tell the protesting students to call off their demand for resignation. We see the V-C and the Registrar complicit in police action of December 15, and don’t feel safe,” said a student requesting anonymity.
