The students of Aligarh Muslim University organized a silent protest with black bands on mouths to express solidarity with the politically disempowered and forcibly divided people of Kashmir who have been held under stringent restrictions for over two months. The silent protest, as the modal used by the students, was adopted when they were denied permission from the Proctor to hold an art exhibition on Kashmir lockdown.
A formal application was moved by the students of AMU on 12-10-2019 to the proctor of the university seeking permission to organise the exhibition on 15-10-2019. The students were called by the officials in the AMU Proctor Office twice to discuss the details of the event. It was explained to them that the event will be peaceful and within the permitted limits of law. The Proctor, AMU denied the permission for a peaceful exhibition on Kashmir without giving any valid reasons, says the press statement released by the concerned students of the University.
The Statement says, “We were shocked to see the permission being denied and were taken aback. We never expected a central university imposing a blanket ban on freedom of expression and banning an art exhibition on the crisis in the country that has been internationally debated”.
The students’ application was rejected though they had sought permission to hold an exhibition on Kashmir at a legally permitted venue in the campus. Outraged by the illegal and authoritarian approach by the university officials, the concerned students have unequivocally condemned the undemocratic restrictions on the student activism at AMU. “The denial of permission has not only exposed the double speak of the university authorities but it has also revealed the amount of censorship in the campus. We call upon all pro-democratic forces in the country to speak up against censorship in government funded universities and save the university spaces from being taken over”.
Previously too, four students were issued a show-cause notice by AMU administration on September 05, because they had allegedly organised a program against the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir without seeking permission and for holding the event at a venue “allegedly” restricted by law.
When denied the permission to hold the art exhibition, the concerned students staged a silent protest with posters hanging on their necks and black bands on the mouths to show to the world that what Indian democracy does is restricting the freedom of speech to its citizens. “Our silent march is a protest against the inhuman siege in Kashmir that has devastated the political and economic future of Kashmir”, said one of the concerned students.
“We don’t believe in a normalcy imposed by the state through gun barrels. We demand that the Kashmir issue be resolved peacefully and democratically as per the will of the residents in the state”, adds the Statement. 
Through the art and photography, the students intended to show to the world the seriousness of the crisis in Kashmir. The exhibition which was not allowed to happen by the AMU administration, wanted to highlight that the Indian citizens cannot accept the 13000 people including children being illegally detained, civilians being brutally tortured, press freedom being curbed, courts being insensitive, streets being extensively militarized and educational institutions being locked down in our name. Students said that at a time when Kashmiris have opted for peaceful dissent, they are morally bound to speak for them. 
“Kashmir problem is a human and political problem which cannot be solved through coercive means. The government must not enforce any demographic changes in the region without the approval of people and their insecurities about jobs and land must be considered paramount”.
By holding silent protest, the concerned students of the University wanted to register their resistance not just against the AMU administration for not allowing art exhibition but also against the BJP government. Students have plans to conduct the art exhibition some time later.
