Delhi witnessed peaceful student protests against the hanging of Afzal Guru, who was convicted for the attacks on the Indian Parliament in the year 2001. Students of JNU organised a public meeting and rally as a show of support to Kashmir. People from different walks of life joined the rally and held up placards urging the Government to remove the on-going curfew from Kashmir.
Other placards compared the sacrifice of Afzal Guru’s life to Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom. In their protests, students from different universities also demanded that Afzal Guru’s body be sent back to Kashmir. The protesters organised activities such as poetry recitals on the topic of Afzal Guru’s hanging as well as on Kashmir. The event showcased talks and discussions from professors like CK Ramakrishnan and Happyman Jacob from JNU’s International Studies department.
The hanging of Afzal Guru at Delhi’s Tihar jail was preceded by strict curfews in the valley of Kashmir on February 9, 2013. The execution saw the temporary termination of mobile internet as well as the broadcast of news. The curfew was relaxed in a few areas of the valley of Kashmir only four days after the militant’s execution. The Indian Government has also been trying to get to get a cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir named Parvez Rasool to play for the Indian cricket team, so as to ease tensions in the area.
