Student organisations demand right to protest

Sowmya Raju | NT

Bengaluru: In the wake of restrictions imposed on protests and public gatherings in the city, limiting them to Freedom Park since January 2022, various student and youth organisations are uniting under the banner of "Horatadaa Hakkigaagi Janandolana: VidyarthiYuvajanara Okkuta."

This collective effort includes the All India Students’ Association, Ambedkar Students’ Association, Bengaluru Vishwavidyanilaya Samshodhana Vidhyarthigala Okkuta, Collective, Dalit Vidyarthi Parishad, Fridays for Future (Karnataka), Students’ Islamic Organisation, St Broseph, and Karnataka Vidyarthi Sangathane. Dushyant Dubey, a member of All India Student Association (AISA) stated that for the past 18 months the police have imposed stringent limitations on protests and public gatherings, designating Freedom Park as the sole permitted venue, with procession requests routinely denied.

These actions have sparked apprehensions regarding the right to peaceful assembly and the exercise of fundamental rights. Another representative from the AISA, Sarath told News Trail, "We are not demanding something unreasonable. We are giving the government one month if they don't respond to our demands, we will be forced to gather in thousands and protest on the streets of Bengaluru," he said.

Zameer a student representative from a student organisation, added, "We are not asking for an anarchical rule. We are asking for the government to give us our right to protest anywhere with prior permission from the respective officials."

Vivek from Fridays For Future, Uma from St Brosef and Pavan from Bengaluru University (BU) collectively demanded the government for their right to protest in the city other than Freedom Park as it is their fundamental right.