‘Ma’am gave the day off’: Voices from a protest in Guwahati
Held in solidarity with Jantar Mantar protest, gathering included students at their first-ever demonstration, families with children – and those seeking ‘accountability’ for Manipur.
Young students attending their first-ever protest, a 10-year-old and her 75-year-old grandmother, and echoes of the three-year-long conflict in Manipur – hundreds of protestors gathered in Guwahati on Thursday in solidarity with the protests unfolding at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Slogans of ‘Inquilab zindabad’, ‘Dharmendra Prasad must resign’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ were accompanied by ‘Manipur long live’ at the protest, held at a designated protest site in Guwahati’s Chachal on Thursday, amidst heavy deployment of police and CRPF.
Among the protesters was 22-year-old Balo Yama from Arunachal Pradesh, who is studying in Guwahati to become a medical laboratory technician. Yama, who came with a group of other students from her college, said, “I skipped my duty and came today. Our ma’am gave us the day off.” This was their first time attending a protest.
“Everyone wants justice. My cousin gave the NEET this year, and I saw how difficult it is for students to deal with something like a paper leak when they have put in years of preparation and think that will get them through. If something this big happens, the education minister should take responsibility and resign,” she said, adding that she and many others like her have had “enough of injustice”. “This is not about CJP or BJP. It’s about students’ rights,” she said.
While most of the gathering involved young protesters attending in groups with their friends, some attended with their families. Leesa Choudhury, 41, was at the protest with her husband, their 10-year-old daughter and her 75-year-old mother.
“They are the future generation; they want to know, and they must know about the present situation… She is now in class 5, and we’re very concerned about education… with these paper leaks and the cost of private schools,” she said on why she brought her young daughter along.
Along with the satirical and irony-laden posters seen across protest venues, the protest in Guwahati also had some protesters drawing attention to the conflict in Manipur and calling for the release of land rights activist Pranab Doley, who was arrested by Assam police earlier this month.
One of them was 17-year-old Vikramjit, who lives in Guwahati but is originally from Manipur. He said he sees the two issues as being connected. “The call is for accountability. I am here to demand accountability from the government about the violence in Manipur, and accountability is something people are now speaking about with the protests in Delhi. The government has pushed Manipur to the side for a long time,” he said.
Young students attending their first-ever protest, a 10-year-old and her 75-year-old grandmother, and echoes of the three-year-long conflict in Manipur – hundreds of protestors gathered in Guwahati on Thursday in solidarity with the protests unfolding at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Slogans of ‘Inquilab zindabad’, ‘Dharmendra Prasad must resign’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ were accompanied by ‘Manipur long live’ at the protest, held at a designated protest site in Guwahati’s Chachal on Thursday, amidst heavy deployment of police and CRPF.
Among the protesters was 22-year-old Balo Yama from Arunachal Pradesh, who is studying in Guwahati to become a medical laboratory technician. Yama, who came with a group of other students from her college, said, “I skipped my duty and came today. Our ma’am gave us the day off.” This was their first time attending a protest.
“Everyone wants justice. My cousin gave the NEET this year, and I saw how difficult it is for students to deal with something like a paper leak when they have put in years of preparation and think that will get them through. If something this big happens, the education minister should take responsibility and resign,” she said, adding that she and many others like her have had “enough of injustice”. “This is not about CJP or BJP. It’s about students’ rights,” she said.
While most of the gathering involved young protesters attending in groups with their friends, some attended with their families. Leesa Choudhury, 41, was at the protest with her husband, their 10-year-old daughter and her 75-year-old mother.
“They are the future generation; they want to know, and they must know about the present situation… She is now in class 5, and we’re very concerned about education… with these paper leaks and the cost of private schools,” she said on why she brought her young daughter along.
Along with the satirical and irony-laden posters seen across protest venues, the protest in Guwahati also had some protesters drawing attention to the conflict in Manipur and calling for the release of land rights activist Pranab Doley, who was arrested by Assam police earlier this month.
One of them was 17-year-old Vikramjit, who lives in Guwahati but is originally from Manipur. He said he sees the two issues as being connected. “The call is for accountability. I am here to demand accountability from the government about the violence in Manipur, and accountability is something people are now speaking about with the protests in Delhi. The government has pushed Manipur to the side for a long time,” he said.
