“Just because we are Muslims”: Aliah University students beaten, called ‘jihadi’ on Kolkata street
Kolkata: Three students of Aliah University have alleged they were beaten, threatened with death and called ‘jangi-jihadi’ on a street in Kolkata in a case of targeted Islamophobic attack.
The incident occurred when Mohammad Ashique Billah, 24, Moyajjem Hossain, 23, and Hasanur Jaman, 24, students of Department of Islamic Theology, were walking towards Sealdah railway station after attending class at Aliah University’s Taltala campus.
Men, aged around 35-40, who arrived on a black-and-white scooty and sported saffron tilak on their foreheads, blocked their way near GD Hospital on Lenin Sarani Road, abused them and started assaulting them.
“The miscreants tried to provoke a communal clash. They kept calling us jihadi and swearing in Hindi. They looked at us, scanned us through our beard and topi and called us jihadi,” victim Ashique Billah said. The students were wearing pyjamas, kurtas and skullcap.
What followed was assault involving slaps, punches and tearing of clothes. Hasanur was punched in the face and suffered bleeding injuries, while Ashique sustained head injuries after being slapped hard multiple times. The attackers also dragged them and threatened to kill them, students said in their complaint.
The incident has brought back earlier complaints from female students of the same university who said they were called ‘mulli’ and ‘children of jihad’ while passing through the same area but did not complain out of fear.
Later, the victims approached Taltala Police Station. The students alleged that police tried to dissuade them from lodging an FIR and described one of the assailants, who appeared inside the police station and threatened them, as mentally unstable and a weed smoker. A local BJP leader also allegedly warned them against lodging an FIR, citing possibility of a counter-case.
Aliah University, founded in 1780 by Warren Hastings and elevated to university status in 2007, offers courses ranging from Islamic Theology to Engineering and Journalism, with most students coming from socioeconomically marginalized backgrounds.
Student representatives said the attack reflects growing targeting of Muslim educational institutions. “Aliah does not produce terrorists. Through education, students want to work for their own futures or for the country,” a student representative said, adding that the assault was aimed at breaking the backbone of a community.
“As a student, what hurt me was that an entire community is being pushed aside. Just because we are Muslims doesn’t mean we are involved in unlawful activities. Is such Islamophobic witch-hunting patriotic, or does it disrupt social harmony and peace?” victim Ashique asked.
