St Stephen's students boycott classes for first time in 30 years with JNU protesters, anti-CAA and NRC demonstrators, read Preamble to Constitution

On Wednesday, scores of students at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, for the first time in 30 years, boycotted classes to express solidarity with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and demonstrate against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Chants of “azadi” echoed on campus of the college usually considered apolitical, and often aloof from the usually politically-charged atmosphere seen in other Delhi University colleges, slogans like “iss baar nahi hum chodenge, itihas ki dhara modenge (we will not let go this time, we will change the direction of history)” filled the campus as over a hundred students marched around the campus with posters such as “Stephens Against Fascism”, “Kagaz Nahi Dikhayenge”, “Bure Din Wapas De Do” and “No NRC-CAA”.

They later joined other DU colleges and marched towards the Arts Faculty building in Delhi university, the Free Press Journal reported .

Wednesday’s boycott was the first time in 30 years — after agitations against the Mandal Commission — that students of St Stephen’s College had boycotted classes.

Never heard before on campus: the chant of #AZADI on our lawns#WeStandWithJNU#NoCAANoNRC

pic.twitter.com/UtfyupbFNV

— Stephanians (@CafeSSC) January 8, 2020

“Protests have been happening across the country and we the students in St Stephen’s didn’t want the momentum of the student protests across the country to die. We wanted to join,” Meghna, one of the organisers told News18 . “We were afraid that as soon as college starts, everyone might just go back to usual academic classes and resume a normal schedule. We did not want that to happen. This isn’t over yet. People are in danger and the government is not relenting,” she added.

According to The Times of India, the students braved the rains  as they walked around the campus carrying placards with messages like “We are here for rights and not riots”, sang Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s song Hum Bhi Dekhenge and read the Preamble to the Constitution.

“Students stuck posters on the doors of students’ common room which read  ‘hum kaagaz nahin dikhaenge’ and ‘Chankra Shekhar Azad ko Azad Karo’,” the report added. The St Stephens’ College joining the protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR was widely covered with one of the English dailies carrying the news on their front page with the headline “ Even Stephen’s ” with the image of an empty classroom.

BJP national secretary slammed for invoking Kashmir

The protest, however, also generated a fresh controversy with BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeting an image of one of the students carrying ‘Free Kashmir’.

Again Posters of FREE KASHMIR by Left Terrorists in St Stephen College, Delhi University. Agenda is very Clear, This is not fight against Modi, this ia Fight against India pic.twitter.com/GoVFOroOpS

— Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 8, 2020

The poster later on led to a Twitter spat between BJP’s national general secretary (Org) BL Santosh and the unofficial St Stephen’s alumni news handle @CafeSSC after the former invoked the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.

Amid speculation that the Delhi Police might file a case against the student holding the ‘Free Kashmir’ poster, @CafeSSC had defended the poster saying it simply meant that the Kashmiris don’t have the same freedoms that are available to rest of India:

Which part of "FREE KASHMIR" confuses @DelhiPolice and faux-nationalists? India is free, mostly. Kashmir isn't, for five months now. Kashmiris don't have the freedoms those of us in the rest of India take for granted. Give Kashmiris the same freedoms others Indians have. @CPDelhi https://t.co/f2qL6IdLq8

— Stephanians (@CafeSSC) January 8, 2020

Santosh responded to the tweet asking where the students were was when Kashmiri Pandits were driven out from the Valley.

Where was your conscious hiding when lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were driven away or brutally killed ...? This selective aakrosh has made many a liberals irrelevant ... Don’t become one ...

— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) January 9, 2020

His comments drew a sharp reaction with users terming Santosh’s reaction ‘foolish’ for accusing the students’ of “selective rage” when they were not even born when the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits happened.

Sir, most of us, the students who protested yesterday, were not born then. Our sincere apologies for that.

For our inspiration please tell us how you helped the Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. https://t.co/esPmeAr50V

— Stephanians (@CafeSSC) January 9, 2020

Another Twitter user, @vedant123, who claims to be a Kashmiri Pandit said that it was time to stop using the Kashmiri Pandit community as bait to guilt-trip people who are fighting for the rights of people, today,

I myself am a Kashmiri Pandit and I support what the original tweet is saying. Maybe stop using our community as a bait to guilt trap people in fighting for rights of people TODAY. It’s been 30 years since Pandits were driven away. We are living in present you should too

— Being Second (@gucciturmeric) January 9, 2020

Some slammed Santosh for pointing out how the Kashmiri exodus had taken place when a BJP-supported government led by VP Singh was in power in the Centre while others asked what the BJP national secretary did when exodus took place. To which, he replied:

I was in college those days ... We protested under the banner of ABVP ... We collected money for their rehabilitation though it was very less ... By the way you were born when so many were killed by Commies in Kerala atleast ... Any protests ..?

— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) January 9, 2020