[Reader-list] Where did Democracy go?

[Shivam Vij]

Worthy of condemnation as this is, I wonder why the police has a special
problem with anti-OBC quota protestors? I have been part of innumerable
street protests and Delhi and Delhi University and I have never seen the
police being hostile towards us - even when in one case the protest was
partly against the police. There are well known norms of street protest - a
No Objection Certificate from the police station, informing the police
station of the route of your protest etc. It seems to me that anti-quota
protestors - certainly the AIIMS medical students - deliberately violate
these norms, provoking the police to unleash water canons so that the
protestors become news and achieve the sort of filmi martyrdom they are
looking for.

By now I don't know what they are protesting against, because the seats are
being increased. They will have to sooner or later ome over their disgust at
the idea of sharing classrooms and canteens with the Other Backward Classes.

best
s


On 8/23/06, Aaditya Dar <aadityadar at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   *Students protesting reservations arrested in **Delhi** **University **:
> released after warning.* NSUI election campaigners from outside Delhi
> welcomed with open arms by Police in the same premises.
>
> * *
>
> *"Elephants, camels and students from Rohtak, Haryana allowed. Students
> from **Delhi** **University** not allowed." – **Aaditya Dar**, **US**member, protesting the Police action.
> *
>
>
>
>
>
> *North Campus, **Delhi** **University**, 23rd Aug:* In a strange display
> of inverted logic the Delhi Police today found it fit to arrest five members
> of United Students in the University premises form leading protests against
> the decision of the cabinet regarding quota extensions for OBCs in
> government aided educational institutions.
>
>
>
> In the same premises, about a thousand hired hands of the NSUI were going
> beserk at their annual 'shakti pradarshan' – a show of strength to garner
> tickets for the forth coming elections at DUSU but the Police were clearly
> on very good terms with them. " It was incredible to see that elephants,
> camels and students from Rohtak, Haryana were allowed to have a   field day,
> but Students from Delhi university were not.", said Aaditya Dar, a core
> group member of US.
>
>
>
> "The Police had been seeing us prepare for the protest meeting at
> Vivekananda Statue in the Arts Faculty since 10 in the morning and there was
> no hint of any trouble," said Dar. "At 1 p.m., once the NSUI gangs started
> getting active, the Police rounded up five of us without reason and shoved
> us into police vans after threatening us with arrest".
>
>
>
> "It was astonishing to see that the group in control of DUSU has no
> interest whatsoever in projecting or supporting the students cause," said
> Ritwik Agrawal, a US member and student of Hindu College.
>
>
>
> United Students members had planned a demonstration at the Arts faculty
> after news of the cabinet clearance reached students. Students said that
> when the Police saw the number of protesters start to swell at the
> demonstration, they decided to break up the meeting, threatening the
> gathering and forcing the students to disperse.
>
>
>
> United Students members are continuing their protests in DU tomorrow with
> another round of demonstrations and peaceful gathering at the Wall of
> Democracy.
>
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