Police Enter Madras University As Students Protest Over Citizenship Act

A protest against the new citizenship law at the University of Madras was interrupted as the police entered the campus on Tuesday evening. The students, who have been holding agitation for the last two days over the new law and the police crackdown on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi, were deciding on their next course of action when the police came. The university has announced holidays till December 23.

The trigger was the detention of two students by the Chennai police. A senior officer told NDTV, "The students instigated protests, tried to bring in outsiders and roughed up the police.

We have video evidence. We secured them outside campus".

The police said the university authorities had asked for police help. Another officer added, "A few students had moved to the Vice Chancellor's room, demanding intervention to secure the release of the two students".

The students, however, deny this.

Jenny Bharathi, a post-graduate student, told NDTV: "We would stay put on campus. We are only peacefully protesting".

Yuvashri, another student, said, "We don't want discrimination on the basis of religion. This would divide India and the law is unconstitutional".

The students had launched their protest yesterday, with a token march through the campus. They are opposing the law for what they said was its exclusionary stance - facilitating citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have settled in India by 2014.

The law, they say, discriminates on basis of religion and nationality. They were also concerned about the Tamil refugees who came from Sri Lanka. The law excludes them from becoming Indian citizens though they have been here for more than three decades.

The wave of student protests triggered by the violence during a student protest in Delhi has been continuing. Most campuses have been up in arms against the crackdown on the Jamia students. On Sunday, the police had barged into the campus without clearance from the university authorities and detained nearly 100 students.

In several cities, including Aligarh, Kolkata and Banaras, students held midnight protests. In Aligarh, the students had clashed with the police, throwing stones. The police had retaliated with water cannons and tear gas.

Violence took place in Delhi today as well. At east Delhi's Seelampur, the crowd had clashed with the police. The police used batons and tear gas to control the crowd, which stones at them and at passing buses. A peaceful protest is also in progress at Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia, being held by the students.