Iran’s protests find echo in JNU

Darvishi and Amiri,both members of Foreign Students Association in India,enthusiastically voted during Iran’s recent presidential elections. They were the long-distant voters and cast their poll at the Iran Culture House at Tilak Marg on June 12. Now,they are the long-distant spectators of the aftermath of the elections. About 19 people have reportedly died in the violent protests that have been rocking the Muslim nation.

“What is happening in Iran is not good. My friends keep sending me emails and videos and they say that the number of killed,so far,is more than that,” says Amiri as he sits next to his wife Zehra,holding their one-year-old son.

Amiri strongly maintains that he is with his people,though separated by distance. “In spite of being miles away,I stand by them,” he says. “It is the students,teachers,and the elite class of Iran who are out protesting. There is no freedom in election in Iran.”

Darvishi,meanwhile,sums up her first reaction when she got the news of Mehmoud Ahmedinejad’s victory as “wonder”. “I wondered,” she says. “I thought it was false.”

She,however,is afraid to talk about the protests when her parents call from Iran. “My father fears that the call might be taped,there is a lot of fear in Iran,” she says.