New Delhi: A group of students under the banner of South Asians Against Fascism and the SOAS India society in UK will hold a day-long protest Wednesday against the Narendra Modi government’s “brutal crackdown” on universities and minority communities.
The protest comes days after students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were injured when a group of masked men, armed with sticks, attacked them Sunday evening.
The sit-in protest, from 8 am to 8 pm in front of London’s India House, is to “resist the Indian government’s repressive moves”. The demonstration will also have poets, artists and academics who will engage in teach-ins and performances.
With the slogan “Educate! Agitate! Organise!”, the occupation will also take place in the light of a nationwide strike Wednesday by central trade unions against the government’s policies.
The statement released by the event organisers reads: “The working class is also going for a national strike on the same day against the anti-people, anti-workers policies of the government….students across India will boycott classes and come out to the streets…”
Members of 10 central trade unions, including AITUC, INTUC, CITU, AICCTU, CUCC, SEWA, LPF, along with various sectoral independent federations are participating in the nationwide strike, said Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of AITUC.
“We are protesting against rising prices, sales of the public sector (firms), 100 per cent FDI in railways, defence, coal, pharma, animal husbandry, security services, and codification of 44 (central labour) laws,” Kaur added.
Over 25 crore people are expected to join in the all-India strike. It has also gained the support of several Left-leaning farmer’s bodies.
Kaur also stated that their demands include “a minimum pension of Rs 6,000 for everyone, minimum support price (MSP) for farmers and adequate supply of ration to people”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also tweeted his support for the workers joining the protest.
The Modi-Shah Govt’s anti people, anti labour policies have created catastrophic unemployment & are weakening our PSUs to justify their sale to Modi’s crony capitalist friends.
Today, over 25 crore ??workers have called for #BharatBandh2020 in protest.
I salute them.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 8, 2020
Also read: Few CCTV cameras on JNU campus, and a guard strength down by half from last year