Protests At University In Lucknow, Cops Ask Students To Remain Inside

Students threw stones at the police who tried to stop them from exiting the campus for a march as massive protests erupted at a university in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning. Hundreds of students of the Nadwatul Ulama Institute pushed against the main gates as the cops kept the gates firmly shut.

Stones, bricks and slippers were thrown by students from within the campus. Scores of policemen in riot gear physically guarded the gate, using their bodies to keep the gates shut. They chained the gate for good measure.

The situation threatened to spiral out of control as students tried to leave the campus to participate in a protest march and but the police refused to let them. Policemen were also seen retaliating by throwing the stones back. But largely, the police were seen maintaining restraint and appealing to students to move back, until the protesters dispersed.

"There was stone pelting for about 30 seconds when around 150 people had come out to protest and raise slogans. The situation is normal now, students are going back to their classrooms," said Superintendent of Police Lucknow, Kalanidhi Naithani.

Nadwatul Ulama Institute has advanced its winter vacation by a week and will reopen on January 5.

Last evening, violence broke out at Delhi's Jamia Millia University during protests over a citizenship law passed last week. The police are accused of barging into the campus and beating students. The police claim they entered the university after being targeted by a mob that threw stones at them.

Protests by students and others have erupted across the country over the new citizenship law that makes it easier for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to become Indian citizens. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and is against secular principles of the constitution.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition against the police crackdown on students tomorrow but has said "the rioting must stop".