An outfit which led a protest march at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) said on Wednesday that it was opposing the alleged “intimidation” of Hindu students on the campus. A group of “outsiders” protested on the main road outside JMI allegedly raising “provocative” slogans.
On Tuesday around 6 pm, a group of students, claiming to be from Jamia, took out the march to Gate 7 and allegedly raised slogans against Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, such as “Jinnah premi desh chhodo” (Jinnah lovers, leave the country), and “Hinduon ko darana band karo” (Stop scaring Hindus).
“Radical organisations on campus were threatening Hindu students after incidents like Kathua rape and AMU controversy. Two students, who are Hindus, were beaten up inside the campus. We organised this march to fight that intimidation,” said Rahul Tiwari, one of the organisers of the march.
“Such organisations are not just against Hindu students, but also against those who are not supporting their ideologies. This has been happening for four weeks now,” Tiwari, who claims to be a student of the varsity, said.
“A mob of unidentified outsiders allegedly tried to incite communal sentiments but they cannot succeed. “The situation was diffused as Jamia students do not react to such provocations. We are indeed saddened and pained by what happened and have asked police to be vigilant at all the access points and major crossings outside the university but in its vicinity,” said Saima Saeed, the media coordinator of JMI. Following the Tuesday protest by a few, some Jamia Hindu students have launched an online campaign claiming that they are safe on the campus. Some students even shared their photos carrying a banner with “safe in Jamia.”