Yesterday evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, a group of masked men and a woman barged into the college’s Sabarmati hostel and beat up students. Students have alleged that the attackers were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – BJP’s student wing supporters.
Soon after, a video JNU student union’s president Aishe Ghosh bleeding profusely surfaced on social media, prompting many to demand immediate inquiry against the alleged perpetrators. This also included many Bollywood personalities, internet influencers, comedians and so on.
Internet influencers and comedians
Among the internet influencers, Bhuwan Bam – a content creator on YouTube – tweeted a thread condemning the violence in JNU. He also spoke about receiving threatening calls that kept him from not speaking up about the violence in Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia.
Maine apne bharat mein aisi hinsa ki kabhi kalpana nahi kari thi. Agar aap mein thodi si bhi deshbhakti hai, toh yeh samajh lijiye ki politics se upar insaaniyat hai. Kisi ko shareerik chot pohochaana jaanwaron se battar hai.
Yeh hinsa iss desh ko manzoor nahi. (2)— Bhuvan Bam (@Bhuvan_Bam) January 5, 2020
Besides the usual suspects like Kunal Kamra and Varun Grover, comedians such as Kaneez Surka, Neeti Palta, Zakir Khan and others too took to Twitter to raise their voice against police brutality.
Satyagrah against this all-powerful & ruthless machinery is depressing & heartbreaking. Mind says there’s no winning, heart knows there’s no silencing our dissent. Not only because this great country with its diversity is worth saving but also because truth should mean something.
— वरुण ?? (@varungrover) January 5, 2020
Stop calling them goons – they are called terrorists. #JNUAttack
— Kaneez Surka (@kaneezsurka) January 5, 2020
WTF??? Delhi has become Wasseypur. #SHAME #jnu #jnuattack
— Neeti Palta (@neetipalta) January 5, 2020
No student should be subjected to such violence, Dalli police should take strong action. https://t.co/9VAQsOdbbx
— Zakir Khan (@Zakirism) January 5, 2020
Actresses and actors
A lot of actors and actresses also spoke out against the violence in JNU. Around the same time, some Bollywood actors and celebrities were attending a dinner meeting hosted by Union minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The list of attendees included producer Riteish Sidhwani, lyric writer and adman Prasoon Joshi, directors Kunal Kohli and Abhishek Kapoor, actor Ranvir Shorey (a big supporter of the CAA, according to the source), singer Shaan and many others.
“None of those who are openly pro-BJP, such as Anupam Kher, Vivek Agnihotri or Vivek Oberoi were present. Many others who were invited, like Javed Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar and Dia Mirza, did not turn up,” said a source present at the dinner who spoke to The Wire on condition of anonymity.
The actors who chose to tweet in support of the students were Rajkumar Rao, Dia Mirza, Taapsee Pannu, Neha Dhupia, Richa Chaddha, Ritesh Deshmukh among others.
When is this madness going to end… what’s the price one can put on an innocent life. Frightening to see images of students and faculty members being attacked and hurt. This level of violence is unacceptable… #JNU
— Neha Dhupia (@NehaDhupia) January 5, 2020
Why do you need to cover your face? Because you know you are doing something wrong, illegal & punishable. There is no honour in this-Its horrific to see the visuals of students & teachers brutally attacked by masked goons inside JNU-Such violence cannot & should not be tolerated
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) January 5, 2020
What happened in #JNU is shameful, horrific and heartbreaking. Those who are responsible behind these attacks should be punished. #JNUViolence
— Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) January 5, 2020
How long will this be allowed to continue? How long will you turn a blind eye? How long will the defenceless be attacked in the name of politics or religion? Enough is enough. @DelhiPolice
— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) January 5, 2020
such is the condition inside what we consider to be a place where our future is shaped. It’s getting scarred for ever. Irreversible damage. What kind of shaping up is happening here, it’s there for us to see…. saddening https://t.co/Qt2q7HRhLG
— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) January 5, 2020
#Fascists will try to delegitimize universities. They will create violence and spread lawlessness. They will then call for the shut down of centers of learning till they can take them over. They fear opinions and intellects. This is how the #Nazis did it too. Wake up! #JNUattack
— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) January 6, 2020
Complete lawlessness! How could masked goons enter JNU & terrorize students and teachers? What is @DelhiPolice doing? Sirf nihatton pe vaar karnaa aataa hai kya? Jo kaanoon khuleaam tod rahein hain unhen khuli chhhoot de rakhi hai kya? Unbelievable!! Scary!! Shameful!! https://t.co/B0AvB2QcpC
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) January 5, 2020
Among Bollywood singers, composer Vishal Dadlani has been the most vocal about the JNU incident.
I’m sorry, students of #JNU and of India. You’re bearing the brunt of a fascist dictatorship & we, the people, YOUR people, your Nation, are failing you. 🙁
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) January 5, 2020
Directors
Directors like Anubhav Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Ghaywan and Alankrita Shrivastav has been unequivocally standing in solidarity with students ever since the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia broke out in the second-week of December.
Jamia
AMU
JNU
WE WILL NOT LET YOU HARM THESE INSTITUTIONS. Suna Aapne????? Sun Lijiye….— Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) January 6, 2020
Only credible voice of resistance and opposition left in this country are students ,You’ll not be able to muzzle this voice. Keep trying. #JNUattack
— anurag basu (@basuanurag) January 5, 2020
A democratically elected government in a functioning democracy is accountable to the people. Who from the government is taking responsibility for the violent attacks on students? Who is going to resign?
— Alankrita Shrivastava (@alankrita601) January 6, 2020
2002 का गुजरात और जो भी वहाँ हुआ, सौ प्रतिशत सच है । यह सरकार और उनका रवैया सबूत है इस बात का । । यह सरकार आतंकवादी थी और है । #terroristhomeminister #terroristprimeminister
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 5, 2020
Hai Dastoor ki subah hone se pehle
Raaton ka gehra ho jaana laazim hai
Zulm badhaao abhee tumhare zulmon ka
Had se baahar bhee ho jaana laazim haiIt’s shameful and enraging to see what’s happening in #JNUViolence
— Vishal Bhardwaj (@VishalBhardwaj) January 5, 2020
Dear @RahulGandhi, @ArvindKejriwal, spare us your moral high ground and get out there, stand in front of the JNU gate.
If not anything, your presence will add pressure on the cops. Not the time for political grandstanding!
— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) January 5, 2020
Badminton player and winner of the Arjuna award Jwala Gutta emerged as a lone voice from the sports fraternity.
Are we all gonna be still quiet?? Watch this happen to our students?? #JNUViolence
— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) January 5, 2020