In crass reference to India, activist Afreen Fatima changes Twitter bio location to 'Lynchistan'

Following the demolition of the house of activist Afreen Fatima and her father Javed Mohammad over alleged involvement in violent protests in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj last week, Fatima has changed her Twitter bio to ‘Lynchistan’, in a crass reference to India. The term Lynchistan is a reference surrounding the reported incidents of lynching and mob violence, most of them related to issues surrounding the cattle trade or beef consumption.

Fatima's father Javed is accused of being the mastermind of last Friday's violence in Prayagraj where people burnt motorcycles and carts and also attempted to set ablaze a police vehicle besides pelting stones at police over former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma's comments on Prophet Muhammad.

The 22-year-old is a student activist of the Welfare Party and the National Secretary of the Fraternity Movement of the party. She completed her Master's degree from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2021, where she also served as a councilor of the students union.

The activist has also led the students union of Women's College of Aligarh Muslim University. She has been vocal about various issues, including Hijab row in Karnataka, Bulli Bai app controversy, the 'Sulli deals' controversy, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), among others.

What had happened?

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) had on Sunday demolished the house of Javed Ahmad, the alleged mastermind of the 10 June violence in Prayagraj, amid heavy police deployment. Ahmad is Fatima's father.

Dozens of activists of the All India Students' Association (AISA) marched from the Sabarmati hostel to JNU gate raising slogans against the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

They held placards that read 'stop bulldozing Muslim lives' and 'stop state-sponsored terrorism on Muslims'.

The AISA also staged a protest at the Jantar Mantar here.

The Delhi Police violently detained several people but the protest continued, the students' group claimed.

"This spectacle of the bulldozer that the BJP wishes to create and spew venom in society will be defeated by people's unity. We want to tell the majority that the bulldozer is also being run onto their livelihoods and conscience," AISA Delhi President Abhigyan said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) had also staged a demonstration on the JNU campus on Sunday.

Meanwhile, several student activists held a protest on the JMI campus against the "illegal" demolition and "persecution" of Muslim protesters in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and other parts of the country.

Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), Muslim Students Forum, All India Students Association and Fraternity Movement were part of the agitation, the SIO said.

Some of the SIO activists also protested outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhavan in the national capital.

The students' group claimed that police detained around 60 activists and took them to Parliament Street Police Station.

According to a PDA official, the building map of Ahmad's house had not been approved by the authority.

Protests against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spun out of control in Prayagraj and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh on June 10.

Ahmad has been arrested in connection with the violence and is being interrogated, police said.

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