After violent student-police clash, Jamia Millia Islamia postpones exams
A day after Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia students clashed with police forces during a protest over the Citizenship Act, the university postponed its semester examinations. All semester exams scheduled on Saturday were postponed, a senior university official said. On Friday, students tried marching towards the Parliament in protest of the new citizenship law but were stopped by police, which led to a violent clash.
University declares winter vacation from Monday
The exams were postponed after students called for a university lockdown in light of the violence on Friday. The students had earlier planned to boycott the examinations. According to university officials, the new dates for the exams will be notified soon. Further, winter vacation has been declared from December 16, 2019, to January 5, 2020. Jamia Millia Islamia will reopen on January 6, 2020.
No one was attending scheduled classes: Exam Controller
Exam Controller Naseem Ahmad Khan told ANI, "We had scheduled our classes but there is no attendance. The students studying in this University feel that this Act will be discriminatory against them. We cannot help it. The protesters want the government to rethink on that."
Protestors clashed with police while marching towards Parliament
Reportedly, the Jamia Teachers' Association had called for a protest on campus against the Citizenship Act on Friday. Those who joined the protest decided to march towards the Parliament; however, the police placed barricades to stop them. The protestors broke through the barricades and eventually clashed with the officers. Both the police and students accuse each other of starting the violence.
Protests witnessed stone-pelting, baton-charging, tear gas shelling
The protests witnessed stone-pelting, baton-charging, and tear gas shelling, injuring even journalists and passers-by, said reports. Jamia officials reportedly said several students were injured and at least 30 were admitted to Holy Family Hospital. One student was admitted to AIIMS after a tear gas shell fractured his arm, the officials said. Twelve cops were also injured, the police said, with two sustaining severe injuries.
Jamia alumni condemned violence; demanded release of detained students
After the clash, some 50 students were said to be detained by the police. University alumni condemned the violence demanding the release of the detainees, action against police brutality, and a rollback of the Citizenship Act. Reportedly, the students were later released.
What is the controversial Citizenship Act?
The controversial Citizenship law received the President's assent Thursday. It states that illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will be accorded Indian citizenship provided they belong to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religions and arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Some Muslims fear the legislation, in conjunction with NRC, is a bid to expel them from India.
Railway station complex torched in West Bengal
The law sparked protests across the country, especially in Assam, where locals are protesting against the legislation as a whole, as opposed to the exclusion of Muslims. Violent protests also ripped through West Bengal, where the Beldanga railway station complex was set ablaze in Murshidabad by protestors, who also thrashed security personnel. Protestors also blocked railway tracks at Uluberia station, pelting stones at trains.
