Writer Banu Mushtaq joins a night-long protest extending support to students in Hassan
Noted writer and International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq took part in a night-long protest held in Hassan on Friday, extending her support to the
Noted writer and International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq took part in a night-long protest held in Hassan on Friday, extending her support to the students’ protest across the country over the NEET-UG paper leak issue. Mushtaq, addressing the gathering near the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Hassan, said being among well-informed youth made her feel happy and optimistic. “This is not just a protest; it signifies the awareness among the youth. It is the right of every citizen to protest peacefully and within the Constitution against injustice,” she said.
The writer said the country’s future did not lie in buildings or Parliament, but in the dreams and aspirations of the youth. If their dreams did not get justice, the country’s future would be in doldrums, she said. “Education is not just a way to get employment but the path to freedom, equality and self-respect,” she said. Given the size of India’s youth population, the country had been enjoying the benefit of a demographic dividend, Ms. Mushtaq said. However, without measures to provide quality education, skills and employment opportunities, there was a danger of this dividend turning into a burden, she added.
Mushtaq said dissent in a democracy was not seditious but proof that democracy was alive. “No movement should be viewed as an attempt to dethrone the government; it is a way to express disappointment and bring people’s demands to the State's attention. Terming protesters anti-national, or a ‘tukde gang’, and using similar labels would be an insult to democracy,” she said. She appealed to the government to review the NEET system, increase the number of medical seats, and impose restrictions on the “coaching mafia.” The protest, organised by the Federation of All Dalit and Progressive Forums of Hassan, was attended by writers, activists, students, and representatives of various organisations.
Photographs depicting police excesses during the protests in Delhi and artworks by B.S. Desai were displayed. A poets’ meet was held as part of the protest, among other activities in support of the students’ agitation. Dharmesh, Naveen Kumar, Pruthvi of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Ramesh of the Students Federation of India (Hassan) were among those present.
The BriefWire