Thousands gather as Jamia, Shaheen Bagh complete '1 month' of protest

NEW DELHI: The call for 'Jamia Chalo' witnessed an overwhelming response from civil society groups, universities and many organisations and was joined by huge number of people.

The students of Jamia and other groups gave a call to assemble at Jamia Millia Islamia University to mark 'one month' of protest after the Delhi Police crackdown on December 15 within the university campus.

Messages on social media including WhatsApp and Facebook soon went viral with 'Jamia Chalo' requesting people to reach Jamia Millia's gate number 7 to protest. "The events of 15th December 2019 will not simply fade away from our memories. They have left unimaginable imprints on the minds, hearts and bodies of not just students of Jamia Millia Islamia, but people across the the world having an active conscience," said a protesting student.

University students from Aligarh Muslim University, JNU, Delhi University and several others also joined in the protest and students could be seen chanting slogans and giving speeches at various spots in Jamia. "This never happened before as AMU Tarana along with Jamia Tarana and Lal salam went hand in hand in the university. The students were never so united and stood for each other," said another protesting student. Even the girls of the various hostels in Jamia Millia marched to gate number 7 in large numbers demanding action against the Delhi Police for the December 15 crackdown.

At Shaheen Bagh, the protesting women were joined by a group of Sikh men, part of a farmers' union, who came all the way from Punjab. They were seen preparing snacks and distributing it amongst the protesters. "We have come all the way from Punjab to show solidarity against the Citizenship Bill," one of them said.

Shaheen Bagh has already made headlines worldwide and over the last few days, protests have mushroomed in Patna, Lucknow and Prayagraj, where women declare that they would continue till the government withdrew the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of

Citizens.