Pro-Pakistan slogans: Friends warned Amulya Leona Noronha to be careful in speeches

BENGALURU: Amulya Leona Noronha, who was detained on Thursday for allegedly saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ at an event in Bengaluru, has been a familiar face at CAA protests over the past couple of months.
On Thursday morning, the 19-year-old was excited about the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Freedom Park. She posted on her Facebook wall about the event where Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was to address a rally on CAA, NPR and NRC.“I am going to address the gathering,” she said.

In response to the post, she got some hate replies, while a few friends asked her to be careful. Sources close to Amulya told TOI she had been warned by her near and dear ones, including parents, to be wary while delivering speeches. They said her intentions may be honourable, but there were chances of people misunderstanding her and responding in a hostile manner. “Politicians will not spare you,” a close aide warned her.
Activism is not new to Amulya, who is from Shivapura of Koppa in Chikkamagaluru district. Her father, Waji Noronha, was part of the Appiko agitation to save trees in Western Ghats in the early 1980s. Her friends say the fatherdaughter duo participated in several other protests. Amulya’s social media posts showsher as a girl vocal on several contemporary issues. She describes herself as ‘Kananada Kajana’ (Black Drongo bird of the forest). The girl had also condemned the recent arrest of Koppal poet Siraj Bisaralli for his work criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Registry of Citizens.
According to Amulya’s FB profile, she is a BA (English) student at NMKRV College for Women. After her initial schooling in Koppa, she went to Mysuru to do her PU at Sadvidya Composite PU College. She worked as a translator/ interpreter at Bangalore Recording Company.
Theatrics gone wrong
According to a student and one of the event organisers, Amulya began her speech with the ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan to make a point that the crowd would not respond to it, because she soon followed it up with ‘Hindustan Zindabad’. “People responded to her ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan with ‘Pakistan Murdabad’. She wanted to prove it to some critics that Muslims are anti-Pakistan. Unfortunately, she couldn’t go on,” a protester said.