Asif Iqbal Tanha (born 13 January 1996) is an Indian student activist, a former student of
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
and a member of
. He was allegedly involved in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case and is an accused under the
UAPA
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty o ...
Act. Tanha is also associated with United Against Hate (UAH), a campaign that was started in July 2017 in response to the series of lynchings and hate crimes in India.
Early life and education
Asif Iqbal Tanha was born on 13 January 1996 in Hazaribagh,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . ...
. He received his primary education in his hometown and graduated in the traditional
dars-e-nizami
Dars-i Nizami is a study curriculum or system used in many Islamic institutions (madrassas) and Dar Ul Ulooms, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century and can now also be found in parts of South Africa, Canada, the United St ...
from Jamia Misbahul Uloom, an Islamic seminary in Uttar Pradesh. He received a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...
in Persian language from the
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
.
Personal life
On 07 May 2023, Tanha married Nikhat Momin.
Political activism and controversies
Jamia violence and arrest
After Indian Parliament passed the controversial
Citizenship Amendment Act
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Banglad ...
, students started protesting in and outside their universities including
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
,
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
and
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
. Asif along with other activists such as
Meeran Haider,
Safoora Zargar were leading the protests. He was representing students Islamic Organisation in Jamia Coordination Committee formed after Jamia Violence. On 15 December 2019 when
Delhi Police
The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...
entered in the campus forcefully to suppress the protesting students. Next day Delhi police registered an FIR against Asif and some other student activists. Delhi Police arrested Asif on 17 May 2020 during
lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
.
Case status
He got the bail in the Delhi Riots Conspiracy case on 16 June 2021. Police did not file the charge sheet in the
Jamia Violence case yet. In his press meet after release from Jail, Tanha said he will continue the struggle against the
CAA.
Media trial
On 18 August 2020,
Zee News
Zee News is an Indian Hindi-language news channel owned by Subhash Chandra's Essel Group. It launched on 27 August 1999 and is the flagship channel of the Zee Media Corporation.
The channel has been involved in several controversies and ...
claimed that they got Tanha's confession. In Zee News’s Special Show DNA,
Sudheer Chowdhary claimed that Tanha has accepted his role in Jamia and Delhi Violence. Tanha’s counsel filed a legal case against Zee News,
OpIndia and other 2 parties. Where Asif Iqbal Tanha stated before the Delhi High Court that Zee News and
OpIndia violated Programme Code by making public the alleged confessional statement. Delhi High Court on 15 October 2020 issued notice to Zee News channel to file an affidavit to disclose the source from where the alleged confessional statement was received.
See also
*
Meeran Haider
*
Safoora Zargar
*
Nadeem Khan (social activist)
Nadeem Khan (born Mohammad Wasiq Nadeem Khan; December 15, 1977) is an Indian human rights activist. Khan is the National Secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR). He is a co-founder of United Against Hate.
Early life ...
*
Sharjeel Imam
Sharjeel Imam (born 1988) is an Indian student activist from Kako village of Jehanabad, Bihar. He had completed his B.Tech. and M.Tech. from IIT-Bombay and joined Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2013 for completing his master's degree in Modern ...
*
Umar Khalid
Umar Khalid (born Syed Umar Khalid) is an Indian student activist, former research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, former leader of Democratic Students' Union (DSU) in JNU. He was allegedly involved in the Jawaharlal Nehru University ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanha, Asif Iqbal
External links
Asif Iqbal Tanhaon
Instagram
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Asif Iqbal Tanhaon
Twitter
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Asif Iqbal Tanhaon
Facebook
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Jamia Millia Islamia alumni
Living people
1996 births
People from Hazaribagh district
21st-century Indian Muslims
People involved in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests
Activists from Jharkhand