Social media is abuzz with the claim that students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) raised anti-national slogans calling for secession from India. Recently, a controversy erupted at the university over the presence of a portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This had led to a tussle between the students and members of Hindu Yuva Vahini. Now, it has been alleged that AMU students raised a particular slogan, ‘Bharat se lenge azaadi’ (We will seize freedom from India- translated) as part of their protests. The tweet posted below is by @goonereol who is a contributor to OpIndia.
This claim is spreading rapidly on social media, particularly on Twitter where many social media users have slammed AMU and its students. It is also being cited by Pakistani nationals on Twitter.
Alt News analysed the video and transcribed the sloganeering that took place at this event. In the video it can be heard that the protesters are chanting the following:
RSS se bhi azaadi, RSS se bhi... azaadi, hum chheen ke lenge... azaadi, tum dande maaro... azaadi, tum dande maaro... azaadi, Phir Bhi na mane... azaadi, tum jail mein bhejo... azaadi, phir bhi na mane... azaadi, chahe goli maro... azaadi, chahe goli maro... azaadi, hum seena denge... azaadi, hum seena denge... azaadi, hume goli maaro... azaadi, tum lathi maaro... azaadi, phir bhi na mane... azaadi, hume chahiye chaiye.. azaadi, hume chahiye... azaadi, tumhe deni hogi... azaadi, jo tum na doge... azaadi, jo tum na doge... aa hum ladkar lenge... azaadi, Modi se lenge... azaadi, Bharat mein lenge... azaadi, Bharat mein lenge... azaadi, jeene marne ki... azaadi, khane khane ki... azaadi, BJP se bhi... azaadi, RSS se bhi... azaadi, RSS se bhi... azaadi, RSS se bhi... azaadi, bhagwa gundon se bhi... azaadi, bhagwa gundon se bhi... azaadi, bhagwa gundon se bhi... azaadi…
It can be heard clearly from 00:37 to 00:40 that the protesters are chanting ‘Bharat mein lenge azaadi’ (We will take freedom in India) and not ‘Bharat se lenge azaadi’ (We will take freedom from India). Immediately after, the next lines are ‘jeene marne ki azaadi, khane khane ki azaadi (freedom to live and die, freedom of choice of food). To dispel any doubts about what was actually chanted, we took a small clip from the video starting from 00:35 to 00:42 and halved the speed of the audio and video. This can be watched below.
Earlier in 2016 when the JNU controversy was at its peak, a video had been released in which it was alleged that JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar had raised secessionist slogans. It was later found that the video was doctored. The word ‘azaadi’ itself was construed as a call for separation when in fact these slogans were chanted as a call for freedom from oppression and injustice, real or perceived.
(This story was first published on AltNews and has been republished with permission.)
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