NEW DELHI: Students at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, staged a march in support of Palestine on Sunday night, as tensions rise between Israel and Palestine following the unprecedented attacks carried out by the militant outfit Hamas on the former on Saturday.
Hamza Jamshed, student leader, told The New Indian that the time for resolution through dialogue was over. He said, โFreedom cannot be attained through dialogue anymore. All limits have been crossed and at this point, violence is the only way. There will be retaliation if limits of oppression are crossed.โ
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To put matters into perspective, although the students of AMU took the road less travelled with Narendra Modi declaring the Indian governmentโs stand on the conflict, condemning the attack by the โterror group Hamasโ, Jamshed remained unfazed of any crackdown or application of sedition law. โWe donโt think there will be repercussions for AMU students since nothing happened yesterday. The ruling party (BJP) always plans out when to crackdown. However, we have not been stopped from carrying out marches ever.โ he added.
He also informed that AMU students have submitted a memorandum stating that they will be conducting a march to express their solidarity with Palestine to the proctor of AMU Mohammad Wasim Ali.
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A memorandum was submitted by Aligarh Muslim University students to the proctor, Wasim Ali notifying him of the march in support of Palestine yesterday night.#PalestineIsraelwar #IsraelUnderAttack #IsraelPalestineReports: @kushan257 pic.twitter.com/wJroO3eICY
โ The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) October 9, 2023
Gathering at Bab-e-Syed Gate in Aligarh Muslim University, students marched together as a procession. During the march, they chanted religious slogans of โNara-e-Takbeerโ and โAllah Hu Akbarโ in unison while demonstrating against Israel.
Students expressed their concerns over Israelโs historical oppression of Palestinians. The entire AMU student community stood in support of Palestinians and strongly condemned Israelโs actions.
Nawed Chaudhary, another student leader, highlighted the need to stop the oppression against Palestine. He said โAMU has a history of raising its voice against injustice, and today, students have come together to demand an end to the ongoing atrocities in Palestine. I call on Muslim leaders and communities to support Palestine and raise their voices against oppression.โ
Presently, an FIR has been lodged against four Muslim students from AMU for supporting Hamasโ insurgency into Israel.
Meanwhile, NSUI Jamia has deleted their tweet supporting Palestine. NS Abdul Hamid, Jamia President of NSUI spoke to The New Indian about the deleted tweet. He said โWe had our tweet deleted after a mass reporting cyber attack from certain sections, however, the party does not support Hamas but supports a peaceful resolution.โ
โIn the Palestinian crisis, they have taken a stance that rests on non-violence. The poster that had been produced had failed to depict that and they will be restoring it with a few updates more in line with party and Congressโ policy,โ NSUI leader added.
Khalid, a student leader at AMU, stated that Israelโs actions have been oppressive. He said โPalestine has been subjected to injustice for 70 years, and the suffering of Palestinians, including women, elders, and children, should not be ignored. I urge leaders worldwide, including those in India, to support Palestine.โ
AMU students also claimed that there is selective outrage internationally saying that people often only focus when Palestine does something while ignoring Israelโs oppression.
Israeli authorities have issued an announcement indicating a โstate of warโ across the nation, resulting in widespread activation of bomb sirens. More than 5,000 explosives have been launched into Israel, causing significant disruptions and chaos throughout the entire country.