By Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: “This is the battle for India’s soul and the youth has risen,” said writer and activist Harsh Mander addressing a conference organised by Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the youth wing of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).The two-day conference named ‘Vidyarthi Vasantam’ — literally meaning ‘Student Spring’ — which began on Saturday at the Kozhikode beach brought together political, religious and social leaders to voice their solidarity against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Mander said people must be prepared for a civil disobedience movement if the government is persistent on implementing NRC across India. Declaring that a secularist would place Constitutional morality above religious standpoints, he asked the youth to rise above religious identities and come together on the principles of justice, liberty and fraternity.

Former bureaucrat Kannan Gopinathan asked the youth to question the government’s actions. “Dictators are made by citizens who are afraid to question the government,” he said. “The BJP government is led by stupid people with no vision,” he added.

Supreme Court lawyers Haris Beeran and Zafaryab Jilani also addressed the gathering. IUML state president Panakkad Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, Malappuram MP P K Kunhalikutty, Rajya Sabha MP P V Abdul Wahab and senior leader M P Abdussamad Samadani as well as MSF state leaders spoke.