NEW DELHI: ‘Humanity cannot afford more wars’, ‘Freedom for Palestine’, ‘Stop attacks on civilians’ were among the slogans raised at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI ) University on Friday when the security personnel had to force a stop the protests and sloganeering on the campus.
The videos of the security staff tearing down the posters and taking away Palestine flags pasted on students’ shirts and campus walls were all over social media. Students were seen wearing badges that said, ‘Free Palestine’. Besides this, the Left student organisations of the Central universities in the national capital came forward on Friday to give a protest call in solidarity with Palestine.
This happened two days after four students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU ) were arrested for participating in a solidarity march for Palestine in amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. The Left students’ organisations including the Students Federation of India and the All India Students Association (AISA) have released their posters on social media calling the Palestine supporters at Jantar Mantar on October 14.
Abhigyan, state president of the All India Students Association (AISA) said, “Going by the recent incident in AMU where the students were arrested for participating in a solidarity march for Palestine, it is clarified that the Modi government is trying to be a puppet of the United States. This is very harmful for foreign policies. We believe that Israel has been responsible for provocations and we are supporting the anti-colonial struggle. Also, the silence of the Western media is haunting.”
Meanwhile, Aishe Ghosh, SFI President condemning the arrests in AMU said, “Yesterday SFI and today several other student organizations have protested in Delhi in demand for restoration of peace and standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
Police detain protestors before sit-in
Police on Friday detained members of various organisations who tried to demonstrate in support of Palestine at Jantar Mantar. There was no permission for the protest, police said. The protesters reached the Jantar Mantar carrying posters, placards and raising slogans. The police deployed there detained them immediately before they could stage a sit-in. The call for protest was given by student organisation ‘Disha’ in support of the Palestinians and to protest against the Israeli airstrikes.