Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) [India], August 22 : The protestors organised a peaceful silent march on Saturday from Hazaribag to the district headquarters to clear their names and demonstrate their commitment to non-violence by handing flower garlands and pens to the officials following a mild police action for allegedly violating the route designated by the administration during the protest.
The student representatives strongly pushed back against claims that student agitators were inciting unrest or acting as miscreants.
A protesting student emphasised that students have never wanted violence, stone-pelting, or disruptive behaviour.
"It is clear that whatever has been done against the district captain of Hazaribagh and people are saying that students are miscreants, that students are protesting wrongly, or that students are wrongly instigating others to resort to violence--we want to convey the message that students never want any violence. Students never want stones to be pelted, nor do they ever want to engage in any miscreant behaviour," he said.
Further, he noted that the students protesting wish to hand flower garlands and pens to the officials as a symbol of goodwill and non-violence while also spreading the message that they only want their rightful demands to be fulfilled.
"We want to welcome the police personnel and government functionaries with flower garlands and pens, and give them a message. Students have always desired peace. Their sole and only demand is that their rightful demands be fulfilled. Students want to sit in libraries with books and pens in their hands to study, but they are not being allowed to study. And that is why students are handing over pens to the police personnel and any government workers or functionaries we encounter as a gesture of goodwill," he said.
Another protestor echoed a similar sentiment, saying that the silent march is a way to register the protest against the alleged police action against the students.
"Whatever action has been taken against the students, call it a protest or an attempt to let the government know that we are pure students. To register our protest against that, today we are taking out a silent march. Our march will proceed from here up to the District headquarters. Along this route, whichever police officials we meet, we will welcome them by offering flower garlands and pens," he said.
This comes after Ranchi city Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) KV Raman earlier stated that police had to resort to mild force after protesters allegedly violated the route designated by the police administration during a demonstration in the city.
The protest was organised on Friday following a call by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission-Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JPSC-JSSC) Reform Forum, which had appealed to students to burn effigies of the Chief Minister across all 24 districts of Jharkhand in protest against the High Court's stay on the cancellation of JPSC examinations and appointments.