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

Students Islamic Organisation of India The Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) ( hi, स्टूडेंट्स इस्लामिक ऑर्गनाइजेशन ऑफ इंडिया; ur, اسٹوڈنٹس اسلامک آرگنائزیشن آف انڈیا ...

. 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 . It ...

. 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 S ...

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 years ...

in Persian language from the

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 Indian nationality law, Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for Religious persecution, persecuted rel ...

, students started protesting in and outside their universities including

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 Meeran Haider is an Indian activist leader and human rights defender known for his role in Citizenship Amendment Act protests. He is also the RJD State President of Delhi youth wing unit. Early life and education Meeran Haider was born in 1991 ...

Safoora Zargar Safoora Zargar (born 1993) is an Indian student activist leader from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, best known for her role in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Zargar was an M. Phil student of Jamia Millia Islamia and media coordinator of ...

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 CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

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 has ...

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 OpIndia is an Indian right-wing news website that frequently publishes misinformation. Founded in December 2014, the website has published fake news and Islamophobic commentary on multiple occasions, including a 2020 incident in which it false ...

and other 2 parties. Where Asif Iqbal Tanha stated before the Delhi High Court that Zee News and

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanha, Asif Iqbal

External links

Asif Iqbal Tanha
on

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Asif Iqbal Tanha
on

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Asif Iqbal Tanha
on

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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

Early life and education

Personal life

Political activism and controversies

Jamia violence and arrest

Case status

Media trial

See also

References

External links