‘Forced to Stand up for National Anthem During Convocation’- Say IUST Students

Students at the Islamic University of Science and Technology alleged that they were forced to stand for the National anthem during a convocation held in the University on the 25th day of February, the wire reported.

The wire quoted a student as saying that the officials warned the students to not create problems for the officials of the university, “If you don’t want to stand up for the national anthem, sit at home, we will send your gold medal to your home,” the student said.

More than 250 students, as per Sources which include alumni and present students had been invited to participate in the convocation will be presided over by University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman D.P. Singh. while Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant general Manoj Sinha, who is also chancellor of the university, also attended the convocation.

The IUST’s registrar, Naseer Iqbal, was quoted by the wire as denying the allegations and saying, “They should not bother to attend the convocation. We have said maintain the protocol and decorum of the convocation.”

The National Anthem debate has always triggered a row in Kashmir, various times, the students across universities have refused to stand up for the National anthem, which has stoked several controversies in the past. After standing up for the National Anthem was made compulsory in the Movie halls, Three engineering students hailing from Jammu Kashmir were booked for allegedly disrespecting the National Anthem by not standing when it was being played in a cinema hall here in Hyderabad in 2019.

Islamic University which is based in Awanitpora in Kashmir has been one of the epicenters of students’ protests that started in 2017. The Forces have allegedly barged into the campus several times and used force against the students, However, Islamic University’s story of protest dates back to 2015 when an MBA pass out decided not to accept his degree at the first convocation of Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) from the then Union HRD minister Smriti Irani as a protest against “diminishing freedoms” in the country.

“Though, for a student, receiving a master’s degree is no less than any prestigious award. But on October 19, (the Convocation Day) I Sameer Gojwari won’t accept it,” Gojwari, who completed his MBA from the IUST in 2008, wrote on his Facebook page.