Citizenship Law protests in Gujarat: ‘It’s our right and responsibility to act now, make a difference’

Later in the evening, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Chavda and around 100 activists of NSUI were also detained during a demonstration held in solidarity with JMI students in New Delhi and students of Ahmedabad who were detained earlier by the police.

According to Congress workers, they held a “peaceful protest” at the corner near LD College of Engineering around 7 pm. “We wanted to express our solidarity with the students. We were barely into 10 minutes of the protest when police picked us up and brought us to the police station,” said Manish Doshi, spokesperson, GPCC. An officer from Gujarat University police confirmed that the Congress workers were detained and were released later.

The protest began around 4 pm outside the old campus of IIMA where police was already present. Initially, the civil rights activists and students were seen talking to the police who asked them not to hold a demonstration as there was no police permission. People gradually started gathering from various voluntary and educational organisations, many of them carrying banners protesting against the CAA.

Students present at the demonstration identified themselves with various educational institutions, including CEPT University, Ahmedabad University, Gujarat University, St. Xaviers’ College, Gujarat National Law University and the National Institute of Design (NID).

“We don’t want the bill (Citizenship Amendment Bill) to be discriminatory, while it is very openly discriminatory. Union Home Minister claimed in the parliament that it is not discriminatory, when it clearly is,” said a student from GNLU who did not want to be named.

“We genuinely believe that if we don’t act or do something now, then we don’t have any other moment to actively work on it. If it starts now, it can trickle down to any part of the country. It’s our right and responsibility to go public about it and make a difference,” said another student who was later detained by police.

The civil rights activists who were detained by police included Shamshad Pathan, Noorjahan Diwan, Hemantkumar Shah and Professor Navdeep Mathur from IIMA. Before being detained, Pathan, convener of Alpasankhyak Adhikar Manch, said that the police was “unconstitutionally trying to muzzle the voice of people” who were protesting peacefully.

A girl student on condition of anonymity, said, “It is believed that violence was initiated by the police in Delhi, so we’re here to support the students. CAB was passed in the alleged name of right to citizenship, but it is religion-biased.”

As police was detaining people demonstrating at the site, more protesters started trickling in, following which police started detaining anybody who looked like a student or protester. Professor Hemantkumar Shah was detained by police while he was speaking with electronic media. At one point, police detained two girls who resisted the detention, claiming that they were at the spot while booking a cab.

Following the detention, dozens of students, lawyers and activists gathered outside Gujarat University Police Station where those detained were kept. They “gheraoed” the police station demanding “immediate release of the detainees”. The detainees were finally released around 7pm.

“We had barely started our protest when the police forcibly snatched our posters and pushed us into the buses. We were brought into the police station in three buses,” said a protester from IIM Ahmedabad, requesting anonymity.

“We detained 57 people and brought them to our police station. None of them have been booked and they have been released now,” said HM Vyas, incharge officer, Gujarat University police station.

Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani tweeted in support of the detained protesters and alleged that it was “state sponsored violence”.

Congress youth leader Hardik Patel also posted message on social media saying that “what is happening to students in Delhi today, had happened in Gujarat during Patidar Reservation agitation”.