We the undersigned organizations, strongly condemn the brutal assault by police on students of various colleges and common people of Tamil Nadu protesting for closing down of all the state-run liquor shops. There were lathis used, abuses showered, heckling, harassment, and dragging out of selected students, and force used on some others to scatter the united demonstration of peasants, students and common people.
Various political organizations and non-political individuals are fighting for the complete abolition of alcohol sale through TASMAC (Tamilnadu State Marketing Corporation) shops. Revolutionary Student Youth Front (RSYF) and People’s Power (PO) organized a protest along with students of Pachaiyappa’s college (nearly 600) near a TASMAC shop situated at Aminjikarai, around Pachaiyappa’s college. The protest started off as a rally and ended with raiding of liquor shop. The police started a brutal lathi charge along with verbal abuse of the protestors. Umpteen numbers of students struggled to come out of the brutal attack of mob but in vain. Some female students were hit with boots of policemen. All the students were taken in detention, charges are being filed against them and 16 of them are presently under arrest.
As we know, wheneve students fight for their issues, the state labels them as ‘criminals’ and silences their voices. The students in Puzhal jail are being constantly tortured. Some of the students are under medical treatment at KMC hospital. A similar attack was launched by police on students who protested against Pondicherry Vice-cheancellor’s illegitimate appointment and anti-student decisions. Such instances are no surprise as the fascist state often uses police action as a measure to suppress student movements and for moral breakdown of protestors. Arbitrary arrests and framing students on false charges are nothing new but old tactics of creating an atmosphere of complete terror to demolish the mass mobilizations. Jayalalitha being a mastermind of such tactics, has unleashed such violence many a times in the recent past including on the protestors on the issue of APSC ban in IIT Madras.
A habeas corpus petition has been filed by parents of arrestd students at hight court and the high court has ordered for the district judge to check on conditions of students in jail. The students, who have been refused bail once, have decided not to apply for it again. They demand to be released unconditionally, with all charges dropped as they have done no wrong by participating in agitations for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. The students are on a hunger strike for the same demand.
We do not view this demand to be moralistic diktat, instead how state has failed in providing basic facilities to its people, but is more concered about generating revenue and acting as loyal partners to business magnates via alcohol and cutting down its funds for schools and colleges!
These mobilizations expose this nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and liquor mafia. We express solidarity with the courageous demonstration led by students who are being tortured by the state. We demand that all students be released unconditionally; all the charges should be scrapped immediately.
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AIBSP AISA AISF BAPSA DSF DSU
JANRANG JNUSU SFI TNM UDSF
JOIN JNUSU’s PROTEST
At Tamil Nadu Bhavan
17th August Monday, 2 pm
Against Police Assault, & Arrest of Students
Protesting Against TASMAC Liquor shopts
Scrap all charges against Students!
Student Unity Long Live!
The organisations participated in this protest are JNUSU, The New Materialists, AISA, DSU, DSF, AISF, Janrang and other Tamil students of JNU. SFI agreed to come but last minute they organised some other protest regarding hostels in JNU and did not even sent a single member (many Tamil Students are there in SFI) to participate in the protest.
The police were there before we reached the place. We started around 3 o clock. After we raised slogans for some time, the speakers from JNUSU, TNM, DSU and AISA spoke. There were more than 30 students including 12 Tamil Students from JNU.
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JNUSU president and one TNM member went and submitted two different memorandum one by All the organisations including JNUSU and individual students and the other by JNUSU alone to the resident Commissioner and got acknowledgement in another copy.
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– Information from
The New Materialists
