Spontaneous candlelight vigils in B’luru against JNU violence, fresh protests planned

Students in Indian Institute of Management - Bengaluru (IIM-B) and National Law School of India University (NLSIU) held candlelight vigils on Sunday night in protest against the violence reported in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. 

According to the protesters, it was a spontaneous reaction to the reports of unidentified members wearing masks attacking students and faculty at the JNU campus."At around 10 pm, 50-60 students gathered to organise a candlelight vigil inside the university premises after the news of what happened in JNU began circulating. We are disturbed by the events there and we are planning fresh protests on Monday," a student of NLSIU told TNM.

A midnight vigil was also held at IIM-B on Sunday night and students holding candles showed solidarity with their counterparts in JNU. 

Fresh protests are planned on Monday in Bengaluru condemning the violence that broke out in JNU. The JNU Student Union accused members of ABVP of carrying out the attack.

A collective of students belonging to different universities in the city announced that a protest will be held at Town Hall in Bengaluru throughout the day beginning at 10 am. The protest is set to continue throughout the day.

Another protest over the same issue will be held from 4 pm at Town Hall by a collective of student organisations including Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Students Association (AISA), and All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO). 

Protests have been held in Bengaluru for over 20 days starting from December 14 against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens with most of them organised at the Town Hall in Bengaluru. A collective of students, which had come together to organise protests against CAA, is now taking to the streets to oppose the violence in JNU.