NEW DELHI: While the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act took a violent turn in some parts of the country on Thursday, the student community stood out for finding innovative ways of holding demonstrations, from offering roses to cops in Munnabhai style to stumping them with impassioned singing of the national anthem as police prepared to evict them.
In Chennai, there was a torch light protest against CAA without a single torch being lit — only phone torches lit up the evening sky.
At IIM Bangalore, it was footwear that went to protest, without anyone walking in them. With the police imposing a ban on demonstrations with Section 144, the IIM fraternity that had gathered to walk out of campus on a protest decided to stay back and instead left their footwear outside the gates in protest, accompanied with placards and posters they intended to hold themselves.
In Delhi, while the police attempted to disperse a crowd of young students at the end of the day, they greeted them with a rendition of the national anthem and asked them to join in. The cops tasked with getting the young protesters to evict the area, could do little but look on.
There are several viral images of students offering roses to the cops on duty. Delhi police, which drew considerable flak for its action against students in Jamia Millia Islamia University, also put its best shoe forward at most protest sites.
DCP New Delhi’s twitter handle put out pictures of “facilitating peaceful protests” and even those showing the “Officers of Delhi Police interacting with the protesters…offering tea, biscuit, water, etc.” Protest bonhomie was also at display at several locations with young lawyers joining in and even offering legal assistance to any student who may end up in police detention.
Along the protest paths across the country, while there were numerous angry placards up, several youngsters brought in wry humour.
A Delhi protester asked for love “like the Delhi police loves Section 144”, another said her father thought she was busy studying history while she was here “making history” instead.
Source: Economic Times
