Youth against CAA, show dissent on streets and convocation ceremonies  

The youth of the country have taken to the streets to protest the amended Citizenship law. From refusing gold medals during convocation ceremonies to boycotting prominent personalities, often associated with the ruling BJP, in their campuses, the students have not left any stone unturned to make their voices heard.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) had triggered protests across the country last week and the youth and the students have been at the forefront. Violent clashes took part in several areas over the contentious, including two prominent universities, Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University.

The alleged force used by the police on protesting students at these two universities triggered a much louder cry for agitation against the authorities with several opposition leaders supporting the youngsters. As anger mounted over the ongoing incidents, students across the country resorted to boycotting convocations and refusing medals.

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On Monday (December 23), Rabeeha Abdurehim, a postgraduate mass communication student at Pondicherry University, refused to receive her gold medal in protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. President Ram Nath Kovind was the chief guest of the event. She told The Federal she was asked to leave the auditorium when the president arrived.

At least 10 students boycotted the convocation ceremony after the university’s students council appealed to the graduates not to attend the ceremony to express solidarity with students across the country facing state repression’ and their strong protest against the implementation of “unconstitutional” legislation.

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A similar incident was reported on Tuesday (December 24) from Kolkata’s Jadavpur University, where Debsmita Chowdhury, a student of International Relations, tore a copy of the new Act on the stage after receiving the gold medal during the university’s convocation programme. She raised the “Inquilab Zindabad” slogan after tearing the copy into several pieces.

Earlier, the protesting students had blocked Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar from entering the varsity campus and waved black flags at him, following which, he returned without attending the convocation ceremony. The governor is the chancellor of the university.

In BHU, Rajat Singh M.A. (History of Arts) student denied to accept degree in Annual Convocation. He expressed his protest over arrest of 69 students and civil society activists in Varanasi on peaceful Citizenship Amendment Act protest.#NRC_CAA_Protests #ReleaseBHUstudents pic.twitter.com/z86CSWBMuZ

— JAC_BHU (@JacBHU) December 24, 2019

Besides, Rajat Singh, an MA (History of Arts) student of the Benaras Hindu University, was also seen refusing to receive his degree, in a video being circulated on social media, in protest against the police action on the agitating students of the varsity on December 19.