India: Citizen's March for Secularism in Delhi by students and teachers of three universities to demanded justice following Muzaffarnagar violence

From: Indian Express

Secularism under threat, say students, teachers on rally eve
Naveed Iqbal : New Delhi, Sun Sep 29 2013

On the eve of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally in the capital, students and teachers of three Delhi universities held a demonstration against the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, UP, and demanded that efforts by political parties to destroy the secular fabric of the country be stopped.

Students and teachers from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia marched from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Under the banner of "Citizen's March for Secularism," they also demanded justice, security and compensation for the victims of Muzaffarnagar violence.

"The citizen's march is a firm statement against those who want to "Modi-fy" the idea of a secular democratic India and are conspiring to reap electoral benefits by engineering communal polarisation," JNU Students Union President Akbar Chawdhary said.

Former JNUSU President Lenin Kumar spoke of the opportunistic model of politics adopted by the BJP and the Congress.

"We have to reject the antics of Rahul Gandhi and the politics of the skull cap by Narendra Modi. If Rahul Gandhi can comment on an ordinance, why did he choose to remain silent on the issue of compensation to victims of violence in Muzaffarnagar?" he said.

Mona Das, a teacher at Satyawati College, said, "We want to send out a message to Modi. He and his divisive politics are not welcome in this city." Students raised slogans against Modi and against "attempts at communalism in the run-up to general elections".

source URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/secularism-under-threat-say-students-teachers-on-rally-eve/1175778/