How young minds are becoming so-called activists and playing a significant role in fueling of major riots in India

*Paromita Das

Having followed the demolition of activist Afreen Fatima’s and her father Javed Mohammad’s home last week for alleged involvement in violent protests in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, Fatima has changed her Twitter bio to ‘Lynchistan,’ a crude reference to India. The term Lynchistan refers to reported incidents of lynching and mob violence, the majority of which are related to issues concerning the cattle trade or beef consumption.

Fatima’s father, Javed, is accused of masterminding last Friday’s violence in Prayagraj, where people burned motorcycles and carts and attempted to set ablaze a police vehicle, in addition to pelting stones at police, in response to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments on Prophet Muhammad.

It is concerning for our country that young minds are becoming so-called activists and playing a significant role in fueling of major riots in India

Afreen Fatima had a history of provoking the Muslim community.

Student activist Afreen Fatima She is a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and the former president of the Women’s College Students Union at Aligarh Muslim University.
The 22-year-old is a Welfare Party student activist and the National Secretary of the party’s Fraternity Movement. In 2021, she received her Master’s degree from Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where she also served as a student union councilor.
Fatima participated in anti-CAA/NRC protests in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh in 2019-2020. She has also organized Muslim women and protested against hijab bans.

Fatima was involved in an anti-CAA/NRC agitation in Prayagraj, where she gave a speech at the protest in Mansoor Ali Park in Prayagraj’s Khuldabad.
The activist has also served as president of the Aligarh Muslim University Women’s College Students Union. She has spoken out on a variety of issues, including the Karnataka Hijab row, the Bulli Bai app controversy, the ‘Sulli deals’ controversy, and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), among others.

Why All India Students’ Association (AISA), JNU protested

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) demolished the house of Javed Ahmad, the alleged mastermind of the June 10 Prayagraj violence, on Sunday amid heavy police deployment. Fatima’s father is Ahmad.

Dozens of activists from the All India Students’ Association (AISA) marched from the Sabarmati hostel to the JNU gate, chanting anti-Yogi Adityanath slogans.

They carried placards reading ‘stop bulldozing Muslim lives’ and ‘stop state-sponsored terrorism on Muslims.’

The AISA also protested at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The Delhi Police detained several people violently, but the protest continued, according to the students’ group.

“The BJP’s desire to create a bulldozer spectacle and spew venom in society will be defeated by people’s unity. We want to inform the general public that the bulldozer is also being used to destroy their livelihoods and conscience “Abhigyan, President of AISA Delhi, stated.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) had also staged a demonstration on the JNU campus on Sunday.

Meanwhile, on the JMI campus, several student activists demonstrated against the “illegal” demolition and “persecution” of Muslim protesters in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and other parts of the country.
According to the students’ group, police detained approximately 60 activists and transported them to Parliament Street Police Station.
According to a PDA official in Prayagraj, the building map for Ahmad’s house was not approved by the authority.

Protests against now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad erupted on June 10 in Prayagraj and other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, Ahmad has been arrested in connection with the violence and is being questioned.