A clash broke out at Jamia Millia Islamia, on Tuesday, during Diwali celebrations organized by the ABVP, after its members allegedly raised “Jai Shri Ram” slogans at Muslim women students at the university.
The JMI unit of SFI, Fraternity Movement and NSUI condemned the actions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s student wing, blaming it for disrupting the peace on the campus. Fraternity Movement and SFI slammed the university administration for permitting the event which resulted in hostilities.
As per the reports by Maktoob, The event, titled ‘Jyotirmaya 2024’ had attendees from outside the campus, including senior RSS and ABVP leaders. During the lathi charge only the counter-protesters against the heckling by participants were targeted. Students also claimed the participants of the event were not Jamia students and that they refused to vacate even after the allotted time had been exceeded.
A video of the incident went viral on social media, where students raised ‘Palestine Zindabad’ and “Allahu Akbar” slogans.
In an X post, SFI said, “These people in the guise of festivities further came along with their gang of local goons who tried shouting communal slogans like ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in the face of women Muslim students whilst misbehaving with them.”
“When some actual students of the university objected to their behavior, these goons led by their state leaders unleashed brutal violence over the students. At this point the police intervened by implementing a heavy lathi charge which also ended up hurting and scaring the common students while the actual goons remained protective.”
“The administration and the proctor have problems with any programs we conduct and always try to intimidate us, saying our careers will be obstructed and our names handed over to the police,” Basil, President of Fraternity Movement in JMI was quoted as saying by Maktoob.
“This is the same administration that allowed RSS goons inside the campus, who created chaos by chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ particularly targeting Muslim women students. Everything else that followed was a consequence of these actions.”
Several restrictions have been imposed on events and protests on the campus after the anti-CAA movement in December 2019. Students have complained that the administration has been “aligning with the Hindu nationalist regime while silencing and policing all forms of expression in the university”.
The situation has since been brought under control. An official statement from the university and the police mentioning the real cause behind the incident is awaited.
