Ever since the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act Bill in both the Houses of Parliament, violent scenes are being witnessed across the country, especially in Delhi. Jamia Milia University has become the center of controversy after the silent protests took a violent turn leading to the Delhi Police allegedly entering the campus and even beating up the students.
Students are pelting stones at public properties and are busy destroying every government property, while on the other hand, Delhi Police came up with no other solution than “laathi charge”. A few lives have also been lost amidst all this.
A lot has been going on in the nation. While everyone has their own take on this, Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan took to his twitter and expressed his concern for the Jamia Students, for which he is being criticized badly. He wrote:
“Political blame game will go on forever but I and our country?? is concerned about the students of #JamiaMilia #JamiaProtest”
Check out his Tweet:
Political blame game will go on forever but I and our country?? is concerned about the students of #JamiaMilia #JamiaProtest
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 15, 2019
Talking to Indian Express, Irfan Pathan said that he has earned the right to speak his mind on issues affecting the people of his country. He also revealed a personal story that is very touching. He said:
“Let me start with a personal story. When I went to Pakistan in 2004 for the Friendship tour, I went to a college in Lahore along with Rahul Dravid, L Balaji, and Parthiv Patel. In a question-and-answer segment attended by 1,500 students, one girl got up and asked, almost in anger: why do I play for India despite being a Muslim? I stood up and said I am not doing any favours (ehsaan) by playing for India. It’s my country, and I am lucky, proud and honoured to represent it. It’s my mulk, my country, a place where my ancestors all come from. Everyone in that college clapped.”
He added:
“If I can speak like that in Pakistan, in an open gathering, puffing out my chest, then I don’t need anyone’s permission in my own country to say what I feel. I have represented my country. Some people should realise that. When I ran in to bowl for India, I didn’t think I am a Muslim. I am an Indian first before anything else,”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5xxSaZhQ6X/
Irfan Pathan further said that he peaceful rights are a fundament right in a democratic country. He also made his stand clear by expressing his views on the ongoing protests. He said:
“Whenever there are two sides to an argument, and both strong, I don’t tweet about it. Here, the issue was different. Peaceful protest in a democracy is a fundamental right. I wanted the attention to go there so that there is no loss of life there, the situation doesn’t worsen. These are kids, our future. Aren’t the Jamia kids ours? Aren’t the IIM kids ours? Aren’t the North-East kids ours? Aren’t the kids from Kashmir and Gujarat ours? All of them are our kids,”
He added that there is nothing wrong in expressing his opinions on any issue, however, people should not spread negativity. He said:
“If I present my opinion on society, is it wrong? Haven’t I done anything for my society? I have. I also know that in this era of social media, there would be reactions and I also know that many of them are fake accounts,”
He added:
“Don’t spread hate. We should retain positivity in our minds. It’s not like before, a random text message of hate, now it’s everywhere; just open the phone and it will flood in. It’s our responsibility.”
