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From India News Network (INN) New Delhi, December 6: In response to a joint call by the SFI-DYFI and the Jamia Democratic forum, the ninth anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid was observed as a "Day Against Communalism" in the Jamia Millia Islamic campus today. A large number of students, including girl students participated in the programme that had been organised on the occasion, defying the restrictions imposed by the Jamia administration as well as the authoritarian atmosphere that it has sought to create with in campus. Addressing a public meeting held at Tikoma Park near the campus, which was presided over Mahesh Kumar, secretary, Delhi DYFI, Brinda Karat, general secretary, All India Democratic Women’s Association demanded that those guilty of demolishing the Babri Masjid, many of whom were ministers in the central government today, brought to book. She also lambasted the communal politics of the Sangh Parivar in the wake of the forthcoming UP assembly elections and asked the Prime Minister to explain why the VHP president was not arrested despite his illegal entry into the disputed site recently. She termed the POTO as an attempt by the NDA government to curb the democratic rights of the common people, suppress political dissent and terrorise the minorities. Hannan Mollah, CPI(M) MP from Bengal spoke about the threat communalism poses to our national unity and how communal propaganda divides the common people to their struggles for legitimate rights. He also took the NDA government to ask for its attempts to tamper with history textbooks in order to invocate the communal ideas of the RSS in the minds of school going children. Pointing out how the ban on SIMI was being used as an excuse to harass common people in Okhla and neighbouring areas. He emphasized that the real target of legislation like the POTO were the civic rights of the common people. Among others who spoke was Albeena Shakil, president of the JNU students union. She spoke against the NDA government’s policies of privatisation and saffronisation of education and also demanded restoration of the democratic rights of the student’s union of Jamia Millia Islamic, which have been suspended since 1997. The fact that Delhi University and JNU have organised students’ unions whereas Jamia Millia Islamia doesn’t despite being a central university in the National Capital, exposes the discriminatory attitude of the government, she observed. Apart from the public meeting, two street plays against communalism were performed by the Players of Kirori Mal College, DU and the Act One theatre group. The programme culminated in a procession against communalism though the campus in which a large umber of students from Jamia participated. The students raised slogan against the BJP led government and demanding withdrawal of the POTO. eom |
