Aakash Chopra Tweets On Clashes, Says Silencing Voices With Force Will Turn Students Against India

Former India cricketer and current commentator Aakash Chopra said images of students clashing with police at various institutions over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are deeply disturbing and crushing voices of dissent will only turn the agitators against India. The 42-year-old former batsman, who played 10 Tests for India, took to Twitter to express his concern. "Deeply disturbing visuals from educational institutions across the country. Teary eyed. They are one of us. These kids are the future of this country. We don't make India great by silencing their voices with the use of force. You'll only turn them against India," Chopra wrote on his twitter handle.

Chopra joined Irfan Pathan who expressed concern over the plight of students in Jamia Millia. The 35-year-old pacer, who has played 29 Tests and 120 ODIs for India, posted a tweet to offer support to the students after police entered the Jamia university campus on Sunday. "Political blame game will go on forever but I and our country is concerned about the students of #JamiaMilia #JamiaProtest," Pathan tweeted.

Protestors torched four public buses and two police vehicles in New Friends' Colony near the university during a demonstration against the act, leaving nearly 60 people including students, cops and fire-fighters injured. A Jamia students' body claimed they had nothing to do with the arson and "certain elements" had joined the protest and "disrupted" it. They also accused the police of high-handedness. The university had turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police entered the campus following protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which led to violence and arson.

Deeply disturbing visuals from educational institutions across the country. Teary eyed. They are one of us. These kids are the future of this country. We don’t make India great by silencing their voices with the use of force. You’ll only turn them against India.

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 16, 2019

There was anger over the police crackdown in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia and at the CAA was visible across many campuses in the country on Monday and protests were seen from Kerala to West Bengal and Telangana to Uttar Pradesh as the day progressed. Thousands of students took to the streets demanding a probe into the use of teargas inside the Jamia university's library as well as police entering the campus without permission from university authorities.

Also Read | Irfan Pathan Concerned About Jamia Millia Students As Citizenship Protests Turn Violent

Several states in the north-east and West Bengal have been rocked by violent protests over the Act, which seeks to provide citizenship to non-muslim religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

RELATED