Vol. 12, Issue : 1
January 2020
Deplore the Citizenship (Amendment) Act!
Oppose Country-wide National Register of Citizenship!
The ongoing protest movement against the CAA
and NRC show no sign of receding. It is unique in
some respects:
1. Students, youth and girls play a pivotal role in
the protest. They have become a clear and powerful
voice of entire protesting people. Dynamism, militancy,
genuineness and defiance- the natural qualities of
youth are prominently displayed in the protest
movement.
2. BJP and its regime at the Centre, perhaps,
were under the illusion that the CAB which they could
enact in parliament will not invite much opposition
from the people and some protest, if at all erupts,
can be handled easily. But the protest, which began
as a small fire has, in no time, grown into a prierefire.
It engulfed the entire country leaving no state from
its influence. The protest was spontaneous and
isolated at some places and organized and massive
in many areas. Millions of people were drawn into it.
3. The Governments in BJP ruled states have
let loose the police against the protesting people. At
several places, the police have gone berserk, shown
over enthusiasm and excessive brutality in their
actions against the protesters. The BJP govt. in UP
has turned the state into an experimental ground to
commit worst type of crimes against the people. The
way the police have raided the Campuses of Jamia
Islamia Muslim University (JIMU) and Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU) and acted against the students has
become a model for police brutality. The police
barged into the campus of JIMU, invaded the library,
rained the lathis indiscriminately on the students –
girls as well as boys – who were immersed peacefully
in reading the books. They destroyed the books and
damaged the furniture in the library. They did not
spare even who were running for shelter. They paid
deaf ear to the cries of student that they have nothing
to do with the protest and pushed themselves even
into the toilets in pursuance of students. Almost same
was the story in AMU.
In UP alone, 18 have lost their lives in police
firing. Cases were foisted against thousands of
protesting people. In Kanpur city, the police registered
cases against 21,500 people. In Aligarh, the police
filed cases against the AMU students for committing
the ‘crime’ of taking out a peaceful candle light
procession against the CAA and NRC. There are
instance where the police were seen indulging in the
destruction of students vehicles and other properties
to throw the blame for the violence on the protesters.
4. The police have turned the North Eastern
states like Assam, Manipur and Tripura into a war
Zone. On one side, there stood the protesting people
– with students, youth, girls marching in the fore front
to oppose the CAA and NRC, and on the other side,
lathi, tear gas and gun wielding police with all
aggressiveness. The protests in Manglore and
Banglore cities of Karnataka were massive and have
encountered police attacks and firings. Kolkata,
Patna, Chennai, Thiruvanantapuram, Mumbai, Jaipur,
Bhopal and many other cities have seen lakhs of
people coming into the streets and demanding the
withdrawal of CAA and NRC.
5. Unexpectedly for the BJP, the protest against
the CAA and NRC has not only become massive,
Organ of the Central Committee of CPI(ML)