Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) students in Hyderabad gathered late Sunday night to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the violence on the students in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University.
About 1,500 students of MANUU came out to protest around midnight in solidarity with the Jamia students, amid reports of student-police clashes that had occurred in Delhi. They stayed inside the university campus and sloganeered against the amended Citizenship Act, the NRC and against the BJP and RSS.
Visuals from a midnight protest that rocked Hyd's MANU in the wake of protests against #CAB and alleged violence that was unleashed on students of JMI & AMU. https://t.co/BJrQFRs9gE pic.twitter.com/hi5tdU8YCq
— CharanTeja (@CharanT16) December 16, 2019
Though the students had been protesting during the day, they returned to the university campus to protest late at night following the Jamia clashes, where dozens were detained and nearly 60 people were injured in the protests that turned violent on Sunday.
The protesting students at MANUU burnt effigies in front of the main gate and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Students held the national flag aloft, while slogans of "students unity long live" echoed across the campus. The students protested against the police violence on students at JMI and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and urged the boycotting of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
The student union has announced that it will boycott classes until action is taken on the offending police officers in Delhi. Speaking to TNM, MANUU Students Union President Shaik Umar Faruq Quadri said, "Following the protests by student community over concerns of violence on protesting students, we have unanimously decided to continue the protest seeking action against the policemen who are responsible for the violence."
Faruq Quadri further said, "The CAB and NRC are discriminatory in nature and aimed at dividing the country on religious lines. CAB violates the basic principles of Indian Constitution."
The student union has also written to University's Controller of Examinations seeking the postponement of exams that are scheduled for Monday, in light of the protests occurring on campus.
"The students of MANUU are boycotting the exams, therefore we request you to postpone the exam. We shall attend the exam on any other date as decided by you. Hope you will understand the situation and allow us to skip the exam on said date,” the letter reads. University officials told TNM that while they support the protest, they will not support the exam postponement.
According to student union, the students from the university will gather at the main gate again on Monday to continue their protest against the controversial Act.