One frightening night in Jamia

Broken windows of Old Library of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

It was December 15,2019. I was at my room at around 2 P.M. I was informed by my roommate Belal that protest is going on peacefully against CAA and NRC on Gate No. 7. So I also reached over there with placard on which Montesquieu's famous quote was written and become part of circular human chain and inside that circular chain my University mate sisters were sitting and chanting Aazaadi slogans. As I had to be the part of that circular human chain so I had to give those placards to one of my sisters sitting over there and she distributed it among others.
Around 15 hours, some activists were chanting  Aazadi slogans and rest were replying. Then A message was delivered by one of the responsible activists that huge police force coming towards Jamia from Julena Circle. So The activists made a way for the girls first then boys came inside the campus through Gate No. 7 whose smaller gate was opened so it was sort of stampede but we all had got entered in the campus by half past five in evening. Students were stand in patches in lawn of Gulistan-e-Ghalib. Suddenly we saw a black smoke in the sky which was of burning bus around Julena Circle was sat on fire by Police theirselves. We (Belal, Hasan, Shahbaz and me) came to old reading room offering Asar Salah and went towards the loan of central canteen. After half an hour we heard a cacophony from geography department as tear gas shells were shooting by police from outside the campus students started going towards libraries. After few minutes later

 noises could be heard as police personnels-cum-goons had been entered into the campus and they were continuously shooting tear gas shells. We came to new library which is also called Zakir Hussain Library offering Maghrib Salah. After offering Maghrib Salah police personnels could be seen roaming around new library. Students were talking to their well wishers on phone calls saying that they are safe inside the library. But suddenly a intense noise could be heard from very short distance as they had come inside the reading room as well. As we had come to the last row of the reading offering Maghrib Salah hence there were no space to move anywhere more over students were coming towards us so someone had broken the glass by the chair available over there which provided us to move towards upper floors of the library. Some students ran to first floor, i ran to second floor as someone had been closed the gate of first floor when i reached over there. I found Hasan over there as well. He called Belal and Shahbaz. Belal was on first floor so came to second floor and Shahbaz was on ground floor and there was more rush as compare to our floor so he could not come to us. On our floor students were scared. One of female students was become unconscious. A couple was seen covering each other along a wall in fear. Lights were kept off. We three Belal Hasan and me came towards a wall of glass's door which was locked. Students were calling their well wishers or contacts telling the furious situation of the library. I had also posted a what's app status telling the current situation of library and the campus. A student sitting next to us was literally weeping and we consoled him then he stopped weeping. Soms of the students were reciting verses of The Quran Sharif. Few students were talking to media houses telling the current situation of the campus. Finally few students came from ground or first floor to tell us that they were allowing students to leave the campus. So we had convinced each other to move together and went towards the steps slowly. The troop of police personnels could be seen on the steps of the first floor having guns and lathi in thier hands. We came to ground floor of the library. Broken shelves of glass, chairs and flower pots could be seen over there. Around two to three hundred students were already sitting over there in front of police personnels. Some of them started taking College IDs and cell phones from the students then they changed their mind and gave those IDs and cell phones to the students back. One of the police personnel was seen screaming that stone pelters are among these all, who all they were? Students replied nothing about that provocative sentence and moved towards main gate of the library leaving campus altogether. We all around two hundred plus students were force to move towards Gaffar Manzil and one of the police personnels said that put your bagpack on your head as locals were pelting stones on them so actually they used us a man shielding. Some of the students were murmuring about that too. So we moved towards Gaffar Manzil and in that little  street two friends can be seen cuddling like they haven't met for years as one of them must be come with us. Another student was coming towards us, he asked that where are the police personnels? Few of my friends are hidden in Geography department. So perhaps Hasan replied that they are allowing all to leave so you may go and talk to them. The fear could be seen in his face clearly. We moved towards Batla house chowk. People were discussing in different groups on the road in front of jama masjid. Girls could be seen running over there in fear. An old lady who were probably with us in Library asked me , She wanted to go towards Khaleel Ullah Masjid. I guided her. And me and Belal went to Gulawati Biryani center taking biryani and moved back towards Nafees road and what we had seen that people were running towards us hurriedly like they must have attacked by police again so we also had to run with them, I was about to collide with an electric pole but fortunately refrained by little margin. Then we all realised it was nothing. It was that kind of fear in our minds that time. We bought two plates of biryani more for Shahbaz and Hasan as they were not able to go at their home as it was not safe going to home even it was just half past nine. We came to our room took dinner together in tension and went to beds. I turned on silent mode of my cellphone as i knew that so many calls are going to come so when i woke up there were 15 missed calls most of them from my home and few of them were from my friends. We all got ready to come to the University taking Hasan's bike from the parking of Jamia so went over there. Qamar ul Hasan sir was right there, we met him and told the whole story briefly. So many students were still there chanting slogans at the Gate No. 7. So many editors of various media houses over there taking interviews of the students and teachers and locals as well. Hasan came back with his bike and he was very angry as he came to know that his helmet was broken also. They didn't even refrain  parked bikes in parking.  We all consoled him and came back to our room back.

Delhi Police throwing stones on the students.

-By Irshad Ahmed Noori

M. Tech ( Environmental Science and Engineering )

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi