BJP only understands violence, we have to respond with love: Anurag Kashyap at Jamia

On the 64th day of Jamia protests, which fell on Valentine’s Day, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap visited Jamia Millia Islamia University to show solidarity with the protestors. “This is going to be a long battle. You have to stay put. How much ever they target you, provoke you, insult you, respond with love and continue to protest. BJP only understands violence and they do not know how to react to non-violence and love,” Kashyap said in his address to the gathering.

Kashyap is one of the handful of Hindi filmmakers who have been consistently raising their voices against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register.

“This is going to be a long fight. We cannot give up. Patience is key now. They are expecting us to get tired and give up these protests. They are waiting for that to happen. We have to understand their intentions and never give up unless they come to speak to us and explain why this Act is necessary and then withdraw it,” pointed out Kashyap.

“We cannot believe anything this government says. Amit Shah will say anything to suit that moment. Our first demand is transparency and dialogue. This government only believes in monologues. There needs to be a dialogue to understand the problems of the people,” asserted the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ director.

“This will be a long fight, but we are all together in this. Some of you wonder why more are not coming forward in your support, but be assured that they are with you even in their silence. We can all see what's happening here. Some people have their obligations; we can never be sure what is happening in their lives and that is why they are silent" he said.

Alleging that the current dispensation does not have empathy, Kashyap said that the 10 men who were arrested for assaulting the students of Gargi College in Delhi were given bail, but the government has slapped NSA on Dr Kafeel Khan who has been conducting free medical workshops and saving young lives. “Under this government, the Supreme Court questions why a four-month-old baby was taken to protest at Shaheen Bagh, but they do not see the repeated questioning of young students in Karnataka,” added Kashyap.

Questioning what the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been doing, Kashyap said, “The job of the Home Minister is to ensure security of its citizens, but the current Home Minister only works to suppress dissent.”

Kashyap, who had quit Twitter after his family was threatened, came back to the microblogging platform after a four-month sabbatical. “The students of Jamia made me come back on Twitter. I saw the brave young girls protesting and saving their collegemates and that forced me to come back. If we don’t raise our voices now, then when will we,” asked Kashyap.

The director of ‘Gulal’ and ‘Sacred Games’, Kashyap said this was his first visit to Jamia Millia Islamia University. “For me this fight began with Jamia. When we sit in our homes, we think that the protests are dying and we do not know what is happening, but when I am here, I realise that we are alive and fighting,” said Kashyap.

“After years, we have seen what unity looks like. From Jamia to other universities, the protests have spread. We look like one country now,” ended Kashyap.