AMU row: Throwing students out travesty of democracy, says Malik
Srinagar: Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Muhammad Yasin Malik on Monday said that suspension of Kashmiri students at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was ‘travesty of democracy’.
Malik as per JKLF spokesman in his message from police custody said that “suspension and removal of four students at Aligarh Muslim University for allegedly offering funeral prayers in absentia for their former colleague, is a shameful act which amounts to persecution of Kashmiris in the name of national interest.”
“Throwing students out of educational institution and thus deprive them from seeking education can only be termed as worst dictatorship and is in every respect condemnable act,” he said.
Recalling a page from Indian national independence movement, Malik said that “in 1941, great freedom fighter of India Subash Chander Bose escaped from police custody and soon after his escape a rumor about his death spread all over India. Moulana Abul Kalam Azad in his famous book “India wins freedom” has written that soon after Subash Chander Bose escaped from police custody and joined armed struggle, a rumor about his passing away spread all over India.”
“Every Indian was feeling pain and agony on it and Ghandi Ji who had serious ideological differences with Bose and stood for a complete non-violent resistance wrote a condolence letter to the mother of Subash Chander Bose in which he termed Bose as a great Patriot who sacrificed his life for Indian independence,” he said.
He said that few days later Mounala Azad who was then president of Indian National Congress was summoned by British Viceroy who was furious about the letter and termed Ghandi Ji as a hypocrite who was propagating Ahimsa but glamorizing armed rebellion in his view.
“Moulana Azad further writes in the book that when he informed Ghandi Jee about Viceroy’s assertions and anger Ghandi Ji uttered no word from his mouth but his facial expressions and eyes illustrated the affection he had for Subash Chander Bose,” he said. Malik said that “today Ghandi’s India is throwing Kashmiri scholars and students out of educational institutions and booking them for sedition for merely praying for a fellow student who chose to rebel against tyranny.”
“This is actually travesty of democracy which is being done in the name of so-called national interest by India. In fact this harassment of Kashmiri students’ amounts to persecution and India by using these authoritarian orders is proving itself as a banana republic,” Malik asserted.
He said that rulers, their authorities, media, vice chancellors, police, agencies and forces who have all turned into viceroys of new age should introspect and visit this page of Indian history of freedom movement too so that they can collect some humility and envisage the value of freedom fighters.
“By suspending these students and scholars for offering prayers for a fellow scholar you are pushing them to the wall and asking them to tread path of ultimate sacrifice. Isn’t this a criminal act of the state and isn’t this promoting violence,” asked JKLF chairman.
He said that “Kashmiris stand behind their new generation and students and reject these acts of persecution by Indian state and we appeal to the international community to intervene and ask Indian state to refrain from this bullying.”
KV News
