New Delhi, Dec 17: Bollywood celebrities continued to extend support to students of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University all through Tuesday even as many of them lashed out at the government over rising anti-CAA tension all over the country.
Ayushmann Khurrana posted a message on Twitter, preaching non-violence. His message reads: “Deeply disturbed about what the students went through and I strongly condemn this. All of us have the right to protest and excercise our fundamental freedom of expression. However, protests also cannot turn violent and lead to destruction of public property. That simply is counterproductive. Dear countrymen, this is the land of Gandhi. Ahimsa is and should be the tool to express. Have faith in democracy.”
Others were more direct in their assertion. Parineeti Chopra tweeted: “If this is what’s gonna happen everytime a citizen expresses their view, forget #CAB, we should pass a bill and not call our country a democracy anymore! Beating up innocent human beings for speaking their mind? BARBARIC.”
Swara Bhasker supported her tweet by writing, “Well said Parineeti”.
Vicky Kaushal tweeted: “What is happening is not okay. The way it’s happening is not okay. People have every right to peacefully voice their opinion. This violence and disruption is both saddening and concerning as a fellow citizen. In no circumstance, must our faith in democracy be shaken.”
Bhumi Pednekar tweeted: “Violence is not a tool to make our country better. We are a democracy and we have the power to exercise our fundamental rights in a rightful manner. What the students faced has shaken me and my heart goes out to them and I protest the way the situation was handled.”
The actress also claimed in a separate tweet that instead of protesting in a violent manner, we should keep our faith in democracy alive.
“However, I’m also shocked seeing how the protest turned violent. Let’s aim to make our country better through dialogue, debate and dissent and keep our faith in democracy alive.”
Filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava tweeted: “Nothing can justify what has happened to the students. The broken legs, the lost eye, the assaults in the darkness, the barbaric beating up of the innocent, the vandalising of a space of learning, the invasion of the student hostels. History will remember.”
Sidharth Malhotra tweeted: “My heart goes out to all the students back home in Delhi. In a democracy like ours, its sad to see violence against citizens for voicing their opinion through peaceful protests. There should be no place for violence of any form & intent in our country. I strongly condemn this act.”
Veteran actor Saurabh Shukla tweeted: “What we are going through is #Shameful Stop #Violence Stop #dirtypolitcs Stop #silence Please Stop! Condemn brutality against #StudentsProtest.”
Hansal Mehta voiced his opinion through a series of tweets. The filmmaker wrote: “India is burning. Oppression, repression and violence of any kind must be condemned. It must be met with non-violent protest and non-cooperation. I salute those bravehearts who are raising their voices inspite of the looming threat of persecution.”
“And I stand in solidarity with all those who protest peacefully. And I condemn all those who seek to quash these protests by violent means.”
“Now is the time for empathy and understanding. Now is the time to take the discussion to the people. Now is the time to find out why they are protesting. This is not the time for authoritarianism. Your understanding will make you more powerful. Your power will make you weaker.”
Riteish Deshmukh posted a message on Twitter which reads: “I stand in solidarity with the students protesting peacefully. What makes our country great is that every voice is heard, be it of one person or thousands. I do not support any kind of violence. We are and have always been proud of our Police Force but this time they should have been more compassionate while assessing and tackling the situation. Our students didn’t deserve this.”
Nimrat Kaur tweeted: “Suspend. Rape. Burn. Clash. Mob. Violence. Ban. Lynch. Curfew. Silence. Protest. India.”
Huma Qureshi tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah in her tweet which reads: “This is unreal. We are a secular democracy. This violence that the police have shown in dealing with the students is terrible. Citizens have the right to peacefully protest. @narendramodi @AmitShah Or that is not an option anymore ??”
Manoj Bajpayee also voiced his protest via Twitter. He wrote: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. With the students and their democratic rights to protest ! I condemn violence against protesting students!!!!!”
Dia Mirza also expressed on Twitter that she stands in solidarity with the students of India. She wrote: “The student protests across the country is a tipping point in our democracy. Seeing videos of peacefully protesting students being dragged and beaten up is a visual that will be hard to forget. In fact, one that we should not forget. These young students are doing what we should have done for them. India is for one and all. I stand with all the students who have been forcefully stopped from upholding the very principles that we hold dear. It’s ironic that the young can see what those we entrusted our freedom with, can’t. This is not the time to sit back. Let’s stand united to save the idea of India.”
Aayush Sharma also tweeted: “Let’s protect the fundamentals of the Indian constitution. My heart goes out to the students of Jamia.”
