The protests and riots against the Citizenship Amendment Act (2019) have gripped the country for over two weeks now. The riots, which started from the Jamia Millia Islamia University soon spread to several parts of the nation with Islamist mobs rampaging, indulging in violence, arson and vandalism. A video has now gone viral where Jamia students along with Jamia Nagar locals, from where the riots started, are seen ushering in the new year by singing the National Anthem.
In the video, Jamia Nagar locals along with Jamia Millia Islamia students can be seen singing the National Anthem as they ushered in the new year.
Many people hailed the gesture as the true culture of Jamia Millia Islamia and termed it ‘heartwarming’.
This is how JAMIA #Welcome2020 by singing national anthem.
Ye hai Jamia k culture..
JAMIAN HU….. FAQR HAI… pic.twitter.com/k8ee7OKYKh— Mantasha Siddiqi (@SiddiqiMantasha) December 31, 2019
May our country triumph over all that threatens her dignity!
May these voice of India’s young carry us through the darkness of all nights. https://t.co/3aLTPSzIcP— Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) January 1, 2020
When Others are Partying around, Jamia Sings national Anthem to Welcome New Year and don’t forget the temp in Delhi .
Revolution 2020 ✌️ pic.twitter.com/I54dFKr51c— Sarcastic_HumaN (@NagpuR_It_CeLL) December 31, 2019
While many saw the gesture as Jamia students’ and Shaheen Bagh residents’ display of patriotism, many also saw it as a gesture to distract people from the severely Islamist nature of the protests. It was from Jamia Millia Islamia that the riots started. The “protests” against CAA saw widespread stone-pelting and violence and also chants of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’.
Read: Delhi: ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ slogans raised at Jamia Nagar where anti-CAB protesters set buses on fire
However, amidst the battle of narratives, there was something else far more concerning. Allegations soon emerged that the National Anthem being sung by the Jamia students was inaccurate.
How typical that those claiming to defend the constitution don’t even know the words to the National Anthem!!!! It’s Gahe ???? Jaya Gaatha NOT Gahe ???? Jaya Gaatha. Expected from #DhongiConstitutionalists & #Islamofascistspic.twitter.com/fLgBtanVd1
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) January 1, 2020
While Jamia students, Islamists and Liberals used this video to shift the narrative from rampant violence and Islamism to say that the Jamia students were true patriots, many alleged that certain words in the National Anthem being sung by the Jamia students were inaccurate.
Defence Analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra alleged that the Jamia students who sang the National Anthem to usher in 2020 sang ‘Gahe SAVA Jaya Gaatha’ which is incorrect, as the correct words are ‘Gahe TAVA Jaya Gaatha’.
Read: Jamia Millia Islamia university refuses to give CCTV footage of anti-CAA violence to Delhi police
OpIndia found that the allegation is correct. In a clear video that was uploaded on YouTube by journalist Saahil Menghani, the error in singing the National Anthem by the student leading the protest is evident.
If one listens to from 0:12 minute mark, one can clearly hear the person on the mic making that mistake.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38OTSXrkcuY?start=12]
In the video, the person leading the singing of the National Anthem can be heard singing ‘Gahe SAB JAB Gaatha’. While it is clear that the person leading the singing is saying ‘Gahe SAB JAB Gaatha’, even if he was saying ‘Gahe SAB Jaya Gaatha’, he would have been incorrect. The real words of the National Anthem are ‘Gahe TAVA JAYA Gaatha’.
Read: Watch: CCTV footage from Delhi’s Jamia Nagar show rioters setting motorcycle, DTC bus on fire
The anti-CAA riots at Jamia had taken an ugly turn with widespread stone-pelting and violence. Intelligence report had indicated that over 150 members of radical Islamist PFI had come to Delhi from other cities and hid in the Jamia Nagar area for two days before the riots broke out. The Jamia students were also heard raising anti-Hindu slogans like ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ during the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act.
