The students of Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) staged a dharna during the visit of union Home Minister Amit Shah to Itanagar to attend the Statehood Day celebration on Thursday. Under the banner of the RGU Students’ Union, protestors raised slogans and lodged protest against the central government for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and also for the atrocious handling of protestors of various universities in the anti-CAA protests. It takes lot of courage to take on the present regime which does not hesitate to come down brutally on anyone, including students, who dissents against them. The students of RGU have taken the lead role in galvanizing the people of the state in the fight against the CAA. They have been at the forefront ever since the CAA was in the bill stage.
Even when the APPSSB cash-for-job scam came out in public, the students of RGU were the first few who protested. In fact, in the last few months they have emerged as the main centre of opposition in the state. With opposition parties and other powerful student bodies missing from action, the young students of RGU have been playing the role of the opposition in the state. It is a shame that many of the so-called powerful student bodies are now becoming like proxies of the government. The opposition parties too, be it the Congress or the PPA, have been found wanting in the state. In a state where bandh calls and violence are often used as methods to protest, the students of RGU have shown how peaceful protests and dharnas can also be effectively used to send out messages. They have been inspiring in every sense.