LAHORE: The Progressive Students’ Collective gathered outside the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday afternoon to take part in a demonstration that voiced concern against the violence that students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in India faced a couple of days ago.

Hashtagged on Twitter as #StudentsOf TheWorldUnite, they said they would continue to raise voice for the students of JNU in India, who were fighting the Modi’s fascism.

The protest was led by Ammar Ali Jan.

One of the organisers, Haider, said that if students on both sides of the border did not protest against all forms of violence, Asia would never become peaceful. Another protestor said that there was a wave of fascism running all over the world, and the violence that students in India were facing was heart rending.

Demonstrators said that they would always stand by those who were victims of violence and whose rights were trespassed. They also condemned the way political parties had voted for the extension of the COAS.

Participants chanted Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem “Hum Dekhenge” in chorus.

Prof Salima Hashmi said the poem “was still relevant. “It is the voice of the people, not the poet.”

Mr Jan said that universities were an emblem of civilization and if they were under attack it was our duty to protect them.

“It’s not just an attack on students and teachers, universities, this is an attack on education and educational institutions and on civilization itself,” he said. “It is the responsibility of society as a whole to stand against it, and it is heartening to see that young people in Pakistan are realizing their responsibility as global citizens and are standing with the oppressed all over the world. Our ruling classes have fueled hatred among people. Our youth must resist it.”

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2020