Awami Itehad Party leader and jailed Baramulla Member of Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh, known by the name of Enginner Rashid will observe a day-long hunger strike in Tihar Jail on December 31 to express solidarity with the family of Angel Chakma, an MBA student, and the people of the North East, including Tripura.
Twenty one-year-old Chakma from Tripura was grievously injured on December 9 after being brutally stabbed in Uttarakhand’s capital, Dehradun and succumbed to his injuries almost two weeks later on December 26.
The victim and his brother, Michael Chakma got into a heated argument with another group for reportedly objecting to racial abuse.
In a statement through his legal team. Egineer Rasheed termed Chakma’s death “unfortunate and shameful,” alleging that the victim’s pleas — “I am an Indian, not Chinese” — failed to deter alleged racist attackers.
He questioned the Uttarakhand government’s response, claiming it took 14 days to act and asked why Chakma was not shifted to Delhi for better medical treatment.
While condemning attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, Er Rashid said similar incidents in several Indian states, including Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand, were being downplayed by branding perpetrators as mere miscreants.
He asserted that condemnations alone do not amount to justice, as lost human lives cannot be restored.
Drawing parallels between the North East and Jammu and Kashmir, the jailed MP said people from both regions face threats to their identity, culture, land and livelihoods, while peaceful student voices are being suppressed.
He questioned how long Kashmiris would be treated as “aliens” within the country.
Rashid said the hunger strike was his only available means to protest and to show solidarity with peacefully protesting students of the North East, while seeking urgent action against attacks on Kashmiris across India.
“To show solidarity with the peaceful protesting students of Tripura and North East and seeking urgent actions against goons attacking Kashmiris in various parts of India, on 31st December I would be observing a day long hunger strike in Tihar Jail,” the statement said.
