Amid dhaplis and drums, JNUSU presidential debates focus on Pahalgam, Waqf Act
NEW DELHI: The political atmosphere at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was charged as the presidential debates for the JNUSU (Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union) elections took place ahead of voting on Friday. The campus was alive with drumbeats, flag-waving and slogans as rival camps clashed.
ABVP supporters shouted 'Kashmir hamara hai' and 'Hindu lives matter,' while AISA supporters responded with chants of 'Azadi' and 'Lal Salam,' alongside a Palestinian flag. From Pahalgam terror strike to Palestine and CAA-NRC to Waqf Act, the debates, which began around 11.30 pm and continued until 4 am, addressed both local and national issues. The candidates were given ten minutes each to speak. Prior to the speeches, a two-minute silence was held for the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. ABVP's presidential candidate, Shikha Swaraj, referenced the attack, asking, 'To those who say terrorism has no religion—were the victims not asked their faith?'
She positioned ABVP as the 'rising sun' of campus politics, criticising the Left with the slogan: 'Andhera hai, raat hai… laal andhera chhantega.'
SFI candidate Chaudhary Tayyaba Ahmad focused on Kashmir, questioning the central government's handling of violence in the region. She also criticised ABVP for 'harassing female students' and called for the reinstatement of the Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) and an increase in funding for labs and fellowships. NSUI's Pradeep Dhaka took a broader political approach, connecting issues like the farmers' protests and the Adani scandal, while AISA's Nitish Kumar emphasised JNU's electoral integrity, saying, 'This is no mayoral election in Chandigarh to be rigged. This is JNU!'
The political alliances in the election have shifted this year. AISA has joined forces with the Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), while SFI, BAPSA, AISF, and PSA form another bloc. ABVP has fielded a full panel, while AISA-DSF has its own candidates. With 7,906 students eligible to vote, 57% male and 43% female, the contest is both wide-ranging and fiercely personal. Polling will take place in two sessions on April 25. The results will be out on April 28.
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Indian Express
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Activists stopped in Libya and Egypt ahead of planned march on Gaza
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Organisers on Friday said authorities confiscated the passports of 40 activists at what they called a 'toll both-turned-checkpoint' being patrolled by riot gear-clad officers and armored vehicles. They said security forces had begun detaining and using force to remove activists from the area and suppress protests. 'If individuals are forcibly taken to the airport for deportation under false pretenses, participants are prepared to … initiate a hunger strike,' organisers said. The group's spokespeople urged officials from the activists' home countries to push Egypt to release their citizens. Egypt's Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Friday's detentions come after hundreds arriving in Cairo were earlier detained and deported to their home countries in Europe and North Africa. Before authorities confiscated their passports, the activists said they planned to gather at a campsite on the road to the Sinai to prepare for Sunday's march. They said authorities had not yet granted them authorization to travel through the Sinai, which Egypt considers a highly sensitive area. 'We continue to urge the Egyptian government to permit this peaceful march, which aligns with Egypt's own stated commitment to restoring stability at its border and addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza,' the activists said in a statement. As activists stuck at the Ismailia checkpoint languished in the heat, Hicham El-Ghaoui, one of the group's spokespeople, said they would refrain from demonstrating until receiving clarity on whether Egypt will authorize their protest. The planned demonstrations cast an uncomfortable spotlight on Egypt, one of the Arab countries that has cracked down on pro-Palestinian activists even as it publicly condemns aid restrictions and calls for an end to the war. The government, a major recipient of US military aid that maintains ties with Israel, has arrested and charged 186 activists with threatening state security since the war began, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Many of them said they were protesting peacefully and collecting donations for Gaza. Still, the severity of the crackdown surprised European activists. Antonietta Chiodo, who traveled to Cairo from Italy, said those awaiting further instruction had been detained, interrogated, treated harshly by Egyptian authorities or deported. Alexis Deswaef, a Belgian human rights lawyer, said he woke up on Friday to dozens of security vehicles packed with uniformed officers surrounding Talat Harb Square, where he and other activists had found hotels. Members of his group snuck out of the lobby as security entered, asking an officer for assistance booking taxis to the pyramids of Giza, where they've been since. 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It said they should return to their home countries and cited Egypt's public statements that marchers had not been granted authorisation. Organisers leading the overland convoy said authorities had allowed them to camp in Sirte and await further approval. Their group, which includes thousands of participants, had already traversed parts of Algeria, Tunisia and the western Libyan cities of Tripoli and Misrata. Jawaher Shana, one of the convoy's organisers, said it would eventually continue. 'We didn't cross 2,000 kilometers all for nothing!' she yelled to a crowd at Sirte Gate, referencing the length of the Mediterranean coastline the convoy had travelled. The efforts — the activist flotilla, the overland convoy and the planned march — come as international outcry grows over conditions in Gaza. Israel has continued to pummel the territory with airstrikes while limiting the flow of trucks carrying food, water and medication that can enter. 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Time of India
an hour ago
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‘Standing silent as Israel annihilates a nation': Congress slams government over UN Gaza vote; says abstention reversed moral legacy
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New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Activists marching to Gaza say were stopped in Libya, Egypt
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