NEW DELHI: Ahead of the July 20 sit-in at Jantar Mantar that drew thousands, a question surfaced in WhatsApp groups, Instagram and Facebook: Should Muslim students join at all? Posts warned that if the protest turned confrontational, Muslims could once again bear the brunt, becoming, as one message put it, the movement’s “scapegoat.“On Reddit, one user advised, “Support the movement, but keep social and physical distance,” warning that videos and social media posts could later identify participants. One widely shared Facebook post read: “Abdul, it’s better to stay away…”Yet within days, Instagram reels of Muslim volunteers distributing food and water at Jantar Mantar flipped the narrative.One showed an elderly man in a white kurta-pyjama and skullcap serving snacks.It was captioned: “Muslims do not need to prove themselves to anyone. Whenever there is a struggle for freedom, they will always be among the first to stand up.”The change comes a month after TOI first reported about the initial hesitation among Muslim youth to align with the CJP-led protests, with community elders, mosques and leaders advising against a show of support.Interviews with students, activists and lawyers suggest the warnings changed how, not whether, many participated wearing masks, avoiding photographs, informing only close family, making brief visits and taking support roles such as distributing food, logistics and legal aid rather than joining the front line.A Jamia student who distributed water instead of carrying a placard summed it up: “I don’t know if I’ll stand in the front. But I don’t want history to say we stayed home.”Responding to calls asking Muslims to stay away, one Reddit user wrote: “Only Hindu students are affected by the govt’s policies?” Others argued that years after the anti-CAA movement, Muslims still “risked becoming the face of any protest that later turned confrontational”— a dilemma echoed by many students.“As Muslims, and especially as Muslim women, speaking against the govt comes with a different level of fear,” said Farah Mustafa Alavi, who has been travelling from Noida to the sit-in.Memories of FIRs after the Jamia and AMU protests, she said, led 15-20 Muslim students she knows to hide their participation from their parents. Many, she added, wear masks as a precaution.Talha Manan of Maulana Azad National Urdu University said, “Our Gen-Z is experiencing the state’s response to valid demands for the first time, hence the outpour, it is powerful…”The shift extended beyond students. Mohammed Junaid, who is distributing food and water at the protest site, was publicly commended by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.The Students Islamic Organisation urged students to join Monday’s march demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, with president Abdul Hafeez condemning the police’s “forceful removal” of Sonam Wangchuk.A Jamaat-e-Islami Hind delegation led by Prof Salim Engineer also visited, citing “principles of justice, constitutional rights and public interest.”
