Over 100 students and activists protesting against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were injured on Sunday in Delhi when the police used excessive force and tear gas, getting violent with students and storming the Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Only a handful of Bollywood celebrities such as Pooja Bhatt and Anurag Kashyap expressed solidarity with the students after countless videos and images of the police brutality started making the rounds on social media but as the evidence spread further, more folks joined in to condemn the attack on the protesters.
Hollywood actor John Cusack also tweeted in support of the Jamia students, condemning the attack on them:
Reports from Delhi are it was a war zone last night –
Fascism is not a joke – we use the word with the understanding it’s deadly— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019
“Fascism is not a joke – we use the word with the understanding it’s deadly,” wrote the actor.
Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by modi pic.twitter.com/aPEFOcexsw
— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019
“Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by Modi,” wrote the actor as he shared a post by Arundhati Roy calling out the recent passing of the CAA.
Fascists in India trying to set students against each other –
To cover for economic collapse of demonetization
but they are standing together in solidarity with their Muslim brothers & sisters –
This is fascism everywhere- them or usArundhati Roy pic.twitter.com/rTgF5CWF2G””
— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019
He added, “Fascists in India trying to set students against each other – to cover for economic collapse of demonetization but they are standing together in solidarity with their Muslim brothers & sisters – This is fascism everywhere – them or us.”
Cusack also posted videos of the violence the students endured, along with the caption ‘Solidarity.’
Solidarity @arnav_d: Thank you John for speaking up. Thank you. https://t.co/LEpHMFACmM”
— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019
The bill which is now the CAA makes it easier for the non-Muslim immigrants from India’s neighbours – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – to become citizens of India; it entitles Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians facing religious persecution in the three nations to seek Indian citizenship thus excluding Muslims, the largest minority community in India.
