St Stephen's College students boycott classes to protest CAA, NRC and JNU attacks; first such demonstration since 1990

Students of Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College took to the campus lawns on Wednesday to protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the attacks within universities, including Jamia Milia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The students boycotted classes as a sign of protest on the day that a general strike has been called all over India by trade unions. Ahead of the protest march, according to Deccan Herald, the students wrote, “The policies of the current fascist government represent a systematic assault on university spaces through the privatisation of education and the unleashing of ABVP and the police forces on resisting voices.”

At St Stephen's today. Students boycott classes (very, very rare) to read the Preamble to the Constitution and to support and say #WeStandWithJNU. And #NoCAANoNRC pic.twitter.com/OxlGWhWjyL

— Stephanians (@CafeSSC) January 8, 2020

Amid rainfall in Delhi, students and teachers marched within the campus holding placards that read ‘Students against fascism’, chanted ‘Azadi’ slogans and read the Preamble of the Constitution. This is the first time since the Mandal agitation 30 years ago that a protests has been held within the St Stephen’s campus, The Quint reported. The students wrote that the NRC-NPR is the government’s “latest move against the rights” of Muslims and people from the Northeastern states. “As students of an institution that has had a long history of being at the forefront of democratic movements, we need to boldly express our resistance,” they wrote. A meeting at the Delhi University’s Arts Faculty is scheduled to be held on Wednesday evening. St Stephen’s alumni include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.