APCR meeting calls for keeping the spirit of jailed students alive through a commitment to justice and equality

Ghazala Ahmad | Clarion India

NEW DELHI — The anti-CAA movement showed the spirit of solidarity amongst the people. “We should proudly remind ourselves that the students of Jamia (Millia Islamia) and Aligarh Muslim University were the first to speak up against the citizenship amendment act,” noted senior journalist Pamela Philipose.

“Why does a government that is projecting itself as a vibrant democracy on the world stage, need to suppress dissent on the ground?” she asked. 

She was speaking at a meeting, organised at the Press Club of India, New Delhi on Tuesday, by Concerned Citizens and Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) in defence of those who have been put behind bars for exercising their democratic right to speak up against attacks on minorities and the marginalised segments of society.

The meeting was attended by prominent members of civil society, journalists, members of legal fraternity, students and all those in defence of democracy.

Nadeem Khan from APCR said, “Today is the day to remind ourselves how three years back people were brutalised for peacefully protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The action three years ago showed the kind of impunity that the police department enjoys. This should concern everyone in the society.” 

Hartosh Singh Bal, the senior journalist and Editor in Chief of Caravan, said: “At the time of independence, there were two visions of India. First was the vision of constitutional democracy where everyone would be considered equal. The second was the vision championed by the RSS where while some would be considered superior citizens, others would be treated as inferior because of their religion. This is what is being implemented now.”

Mirza Warda Beg, a law graduate from Aligarh Muslim University, quoting Angela Davis said, “while jails are meant to break people’s spirits, it has failed to break the spirits of our friends who were jailed for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.” 

Haris Javed, a student from Jamia Millia Islamia, recounted the horrors of police atrocities on the 13th and 15th of December 2019.

“After all the atrocities, now the students are being portrayed as villains. Students have lost their hands and their eyes. Every winter, the pain strikes back and so do those memories,” he said.

The meeting concluded with a resolution to keep the spirit of the jailed students alive through a commitment to justice and equality.

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Cover photo: Concerned Citizens & Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) organised a meeting at the Press Club of India in New Delhi on Tuesday in defence of those who have been put behind bars for exercising their democratic right to speak up against attacks on minorities and the marginalised segments of society.