'Face' of Jamia protests says Sangh Parivar behind curbs on Facebook account

Aysha Renna, who became one of the most prominent faces of the protests at Jamia Millia Islamia, claimed on Tuesday that restrictions had been imposed on her Facebook account.

Aysha became popular after images of her standing on a wall with two other students and shouting slogans during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on December 15 went viral. Aysha and other female students also shielded a male student who was being beaten by a group of policemen.

Aysha tweeted on Tuesday, "Following hate campaigns and organised efforts by Sangh Parivar IT cells, my fb account has been reported many times, which makes me unable to post there..." Aysha also posted a screenshot of a Facebook notification saying "You can't go live for 30 days", which explained the restriction was imposed because the post did not follow Facebook's Community Standards. Aysha was apparently attempting to upload a live feed.

Aysha and Ladeeda Farzana, another Jamia student who became popular during the protests, have been subjected to allegations of favouring Islamic radicalism by social media handles considered sympathetic to rightwing groups.

Aysha also tweeted that "there has been a targeted campaign against me and my family, in the form of slander, online posts, police and intelligence surveillance, and personal attacks". She claimed she and her family had decided to initiate legal action against such "online slander and hate comments".

In an interview with the Edex Live publication of The New Indian Express, Aysha claimed old Facebook posts by her were being used to "divert attention". “Now, the Sanghis and pro-Hindutva activists are using this against me and our movement to save the Constitution. They're trying to divert the attention. But I won't back off. I will continue my fight," Aysha told Edex Live. Aysha was trolled on Facebook on Monday over an old post that criticised the execution in 2015 of Mumbai blasts accused Yakub Memon.

Aysha, a native of Kerala and a history student at Jamia Millia Islamia, has remained active in the agitation since the violence on December 15.

Aysha had described her activism in an interview with noted journalist Barkha Dutt as being prompted by seeing the "Citizenship Amendment Act as a matter of existence”.

Aysha filed a petition with others before the Delhi High Court on Tuesday demanding "instant and quality medical care" for the students and staff of Jamia Millia Islamia who were detained and injured during the violence on December 15.