Cops Vandalised Our Library, We Opened One On Road: Jamia Students

Video Editor: Varun Sharma

Scenes of a bloodied and tear-gassed library continue to haunt the students of Delhi’s Jamia Millia University, yet they have pledged to “read for revolution.”

“Delhi Police vandalised our library, so we opened one on the streets. They cannot stop us from reading,” students say.

The two main libraries of the university remain shut days after the Delhi Police stormed the campus and lathi-charged students on the night of 15 December 2019, following protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

But the students have now set up a makeshift library outside Gate 10 of the university to mark their protest and prepare for their upcoming examinations.

“We thought that if they have vandalised our library and we cannot go inside, then we will follow the same culture on the road. We will make groups, we will study there and then we’ll take our exams and we’ll protest. We’ll not step back.”

Kumail, law student

Zeeshan, also a law student, has been put in charge of this makeshift library where people come in groups to study, discuss and share ideas from 12 noon to 6 pm. Zeeshan, who used to be a regular at the Jamia library, said it “pained” him to see the campus in such a broken condition.

“My work here is to arrange books. Through contributions of students and volunteers, we have collected some books. Some of them have been arranged from our houses, some we have bought or borrowed.”

Zeeshan, law student

Suyash Tripathy, a fifth-year law student, recalls the horror he witnessed inside the library on the night of 15 December.

“They entered our libraries and beat up our kids. Many students were injured there. There was panic everywhere. The trauma we faced then has not gone from our minds.”

Suyash Tripathy, law student

Md Wasim, first-year student of Arabic studies, was studying at the library on 15 December when the police stormed in.

“As they shelled tear gas, students started running helter-skelter. They were not able to breathe inside,” he recalled.

He added that after some time, administration staff came to them, asking them to sit there calmly.

“Even some police officers came in and instructed us to sit in silence and threatened that they would beat us if we refused to do so,” he said.

Both Suyash and Wasim refuse to budge from the road. “Breaking our libraries was an attack on India’s youth. They want us to feel scared of asking questions, but we won’t stop our learning,” Wasim said.