PUDUCHERRY, CHENNAI: Rabeeha says she was shocked and surprised when the police pulled her out of the convocation function. She was not allowed inside the hall until the President left.
Later, when her turn came to receive the gold medal and the certificate, she rejected the medal as a mark of protest and accepted just the MA certificate.
“The incident made me want to take a stand,” Rabeeha told Express.
“I gave up the medal not just because they insulted me, but also to express my solidarity with students who faced police brutality while protesting peacefully against the BJP government. I also wanted to register my voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens,” she said.
“This is my way of showing the world what education means to us youngsters. A lesson in unity and peace is worth a lot more than medals and certificates. I hope that message is clear,” says Rabeeha, who hails from Kozhikode in Kerala.
When Professor Rajeev Jain offered her the medal on the stage, in front of the university VC and Registrar, Rabeeha rejected it as a mark of protest.
Several other gold medallists and students have boycotted the convocation in protest against CAA and NRC.
“Some of them are my friends who have boycotted the convocation. One of them is Karthika B Kurup who completed M.Sc Electronic Media with a gold medal and my solidarity is with all of them,” opined Rabeeha, who was the Joint Secretary of Ambedkar Students Association.
While there were several other Muslim students seated in the all wearing hijab, Rabeeha was the only student among them to be chosen to receive the medal from the President and later denied. Responding to the incident, the university PRO blamed the police Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
The OSD, in turn, said it’s the PRO who should clarify the matter. The students' council of the university alleged that even the selection of 10 students to receive medals directly from the President was ‘discriminatory in nature’.
In a statement, council president Parichay Yadav and secretary V Kuralanban, said, under the pretext of ongoing protests, only a few students were handpicked by the administration to receive awards directly from the president.
“Clearly, the selection was discriminatory. The students' council strongly condemns this ‘cowardly’ act by the authorities which denied the opportunity for some students,” they said.
“The council salutes the students, medallists and awardees who refused to attend or receive their gold medals and certificates from the President as a gesture of solidarity against CAA and NRC.”