The fight against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has now gained full steam with the film industry that has the most powerful voice given its reach, joining in the protests. There has been inhumane police brutality against students of the Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and slowly but steadily, the whole country is now standing with the youth of India.
There are known dissenters like Richa Chadha and Swara Bhaskar who have of course voiced their displeasure with the Act, but even celebrities lesser known to share their political views have now come out in support of the public, especially the students of India and their fight against police brutality and the draconian CAA.
1. Sushant Singh – The host of Savdhaan India was given the boot from the show after he attended a CAA protest that was held at the Mumbai University in solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Undettered by the fact that he was pulled off the show, the young actor said, “I sell my talent, not my conscience.”
Good to see @sushant_says come out in support. Also, the protesting students kept the focus on #CAA and police excesses in #Jamia and #AMU. A speaker trying to make it Cong vs BJP was asked not to venture there pic.twitter.com/gZM2UW6Pn3
— Vishakh Rathi (@vishakhrathi) December 16, 2019
And, my stint with Savdhaan India has ended.
— सुशांत सिंह sushant singh سوشانت سنگھ (@sushant_says) December 16, 2019
2. Farhan Akhtar – The actor who is going to attend the protest against the CAA in the city soon, has urged people to now come to the streets and support the movement opposing the CAA.
Here’s what you need to know about why these protests are important. See you on the 19th at August Kranti Maidan, Mumbai. The time to protest on social media alone is over. pic.twitter.com/lwkyMCHk2v
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) December 18, 2019
3. Dia Mirza
I stand in solidarity with the students of India. pic.twitter.com/OCl8gH276B
— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) December 16, 2019
4. Renuka Shahane – Renuka is known to voice her opinion against injustice and she did the same with the CAA too. After PM Modi tweeted appealing for peace and not fall prey to falsehoods, this is what she said –
Sir, please ask people to stay away from all your IT cell Twitter handles then. They spread the most amount of rumours, falsehoods and are totally against brotherhood, peace and unity. The real.”tukde tukde” gang is your IT cell sir. Please stop them from spreading hate ???? https://t.co/bMaXDFnvsP
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) December 16, 2019
5. Manoj Bajpayee – He too stood in support of the students who bore the brunt of violence by the police.
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.
With the students and their democratic rights to protest ! I condemn violence against protesting students!!!!!— manoj bajpayee (@BajpayeeManoj) December 16, 2019
6. Ritiesh Deshmukh – Condemning the violence against students, he said –
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) December 16, 2019
7. Sidharth Malhotra – Sidharth is an alumni of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi. He expressed his anguish for the security of the student community who are being demonized by the police and government.
My heart goes out to all the students back home in Delhi. In a democracy like ours, its sad to see violence against citizens for voicing their opinion through peaceful protests. There should be no place for violence of any form & intent in our country. I strongly condemn this act
— Sidharth Malhotra (@SidMalhotra) December 16, 2019
8. Parineeti Chopra – The actress strongly condemned the violence against innocent protestors in the wake of the CAA protests.
If this is what’s gonna happen everytime a citizen expresses their view, forget #CAB, we should pass a bill and not call our country a democracy anymore! Beating up innocent human beings for speaking their mind? BARBARIC.
— Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) December 17, 2019
9. Sandhya Mridul – The actress who had been vocal about the #MeToo movement, this time expressed her solidarity towards students and urged them to not give in to the violence inducing tactics of radical elements.
Dear students…everywhere.
We stand with you.
In solidarity. pic.twitter.com/4LDALMBaDK— Sandhya Mridul (@sandymridul) December 17, 2019
10. Pulkit Samrat – The actor, calling the crackdown on Jamia Millia Islamia students barbaric has urged people to come out to protests in large numbers against the CAA.
BARBARIC! UNDEMOCRATIC! UNSECULAR! That’s what we are turning into! Not the India I was born in! #UnityIsOurReligion #IStandWithJamiaMilliaStudents
— Pulkit Samrat (@PulkitSamrat) December 17, 2019
11. Twinkle Khanna – Mrs. Funny Bones as she’s popularly known, has too come out in support of the students that were cornered and beaten up by the police. This, after a whole controversy erupted when her husband, well known celebrity Akshay Kumar, mostly known for doing films with a patriotic flavour, went back on liking a tweet mocking the crackdown on protestors.
That was last week and now add oppressing the voices of our students by using violence and we have crawled even further into the dark tunnel. I stand by a secular, democratic India where peaceful dissent is our… https://t.co/wiZVSq71Nc
— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) December 17, 2019
12. Konkona Sensharma – The actress and director condemned the Delhi Police for their actions against peaceful protestors.
We are with the students! Shame on you @DelhiPolice
— Konkona Sensharma (@konkonas) December 15, 2019
13. Alankrita Shrivastava – The filmmaker, writer, feminist and a JMIU alumni has strongly condemned the barbaric violence meted out to students in hostels and universities in the name of maintaining law and order.
…Today my heart is bleeding for the students of Jamia who have been mercilessly attacked on campus. This is wrong and cruel at every level. I stand in solidarity with the bravehearts of Jamia. I am praying for the students who are injured and fighting for their lives.
— Alankrita Shrivastava (@alankrita601) December 15, 2019
14. Tillotama Shome – The Indian actress called out PM Modi for his comment where he suggested that the people who were inciting violence could be identified by their clothes, thus singling out a minority community.
“कपड़ों से पता चलता है” Really?!
Should we protest against unconstitutional,divisive acts in the nude like the women of Manipur did in 2004?Don’t confuse secular citizen protests with petty politics by playing the religion card. It’s not very grown up of you nor is it democratic— Tillotama Shome (@TillotamaShome) December 17, 2019
15. Papon – The singer, who expressed his solidarity with the students and the on-going protests in Assam against the CAA, has now cancelled his Delhi concert to stand with the protestors.
It’s painful to see the way Assam is burning!Humanity is suffering! Assam has been burdened with illegal immigration for decades!We don’t deserve this!The diverse, complex mix of the Assamese culture & people and their existence needs to be understood!We need to be heard properly
— papon angaraag (@paponmusic) December 12, 2019
16. Siddharth – The actor, best known in Bollywood for his role in Rang De Basanti has highlighted how the regime is shifting focus from important matters like the economic slowdown by looking to divide people on religious lines.
First they will filter Muslims, then Christians, then other religions, then they will corner the oppressed castes and slyly go after the rights of women. They will always find a way to divide. They will always find a way to hate. This is their way. Say no to fascism! Save #India.
— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) December 18, 2019
17. Pooja Bhatt – Mahesh Bhatt’s elder daughter, she has urged people to come out and voice their anger against the CAA.
To speak with silence when we should protest is what makes cowards out of men. India is burning. One can’t be mute anymore.
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) December 16, 2019
18. Aditi Rao Hydari – The actress too urged people to rise against autocratic policies and act against the forces shutting down dissent.
In a democracy, when voices of dissent are shut down, when plurality is shut down, when diversity is shut down with violence time and again, we are done for…
Till we rise, for real ( not just on social media)… We Can, and We Must…NOW. pic.twitter.com/rHaaw4j7Dh— Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) December 18, 2019
19. Huma S Qureshi – Questioning the police’s action against the fundamental right to protest she directly tweeted to Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Modi whether or not the citizens in the country had a right to protest anymore.
This is unreal. We are a secular democracy. This violence that the police have shown in dealing with the students is terrible. Citizens have the right to peacefully protest. @narendramodi @AmitShah Or that is not an option anymore ??
— Huma S Qureshi (@humasqureshi) December 16, 2019
20. Sonakshi Sinha – The actress who has been a crusader for many a campaign for women’s rights posted a picture of the preamble asking people to remember the four pillars of a secular society.
This is what we were, what we are and what we MUST remain! #neverforget pic.twitter.com/itmacCC9qV
— Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) December 17, 2019
21. Rajkummar Rao – An actor and Delhi University graduate put out a statement condemning the violence against students by the police.
I strongly condemn the violence that the police have shown in dealing with the students. In a democracy the citizens have the right to peacefully protest.I also condemn any kind of act of destruction of the public properties. Violence is not the solution for anything!
— Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) December 16, 2019
22. Vikrant Massey – The actor too tweeted in support of the JMIU students who were brutally harassed by the Delhi police.
This is a picture of students from #JamiaMilia holding photos of #Ambedkar & #Gandhi opposing the #CAA2019
We haven’t forgotten our roots.
And we will fight to regain the lost sanity of this proud country ?? #StandWithJamia #Delhiviolence pic.twitter.com/gOCh0B7Cnw
— Vikrant Massey (@masseysahib) December 15, 2019
23. Radhika Apte – The actress put out a post on Instagram explaining how the CAA and NRC are linked.
24. Varun Dhawan – The actor, popular with the youth of the country, didn’t resort to a lot of words, but let a picture do the talking.
?? Jai hind pic.twitter.com/mvDKpj7Z4z
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) December 17, 2019
25. Vishal Bhardwaj – The filmmaker, a graduate of the Hindu College, DU expressed his sadness for the students at JMIU, but urged them to not be silent.
My heart pains for the students of Jamia.
Don’t Be Silent, Don’t Be Violent.— Vishal Bhardwaj (@VishalBhardwaj) December 17, 2019
26. Bhumi Pednekar – The actress condemned the violent turn of the protests against CAA.
Violence is not a tool to make our country better. We are a democracy and we have the power to exercise our fundamental rights in a rightful manner. What the students faced has shaken me and my heart goes out to them and I protest the way the situation was handled.
— bhumi pednekar (@bhumipednekar) December 16, 2019
Support from celebrities has always been a welcome move, for those who stand in power must support the meek. Though the most well-known, veterans of the industry are still silent on the protests and the violence against students, it is heart-warming to see young celebrities come out in solidarity with the students, the future of India.
Related:
Aftermath of clashes at AMU
SC to hear petitions against CAA on Dec 18
175 arrested, over 1400 detained: Assam gov’t says ‘All is Well’
Horrific Police brutality on Jamia Students, over 50 injured