New Delhi: Clashes broke out on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Thursday evening during the Durga Puja idol immersion ceremony after a symbolic Ravana Dahan staged by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) sparked protests from left-wing groups.
The incident unfolded after ABVP students from Barak Hostel burned a Ravana effigy with the faces of former JNU students Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, both facing trial under sedition and anti-terror charges. The effigy also depicted other figures, including Afzal Guru and Charu Mazumdar, as heads of Ravana. Left-wing student organisations such as AISA, SFI, and DSF condemned the act, calling it a public trial of individuals whose cases are still before the courts.
The protest escalated when ABVP’s Durga Puja procession reached Sabarmati T-Point, where leftist students had gathered. ABVP claimed that its participants were attacked with wooden blocks and that a female student was assaulted. Left groups, however, accused ABVP of provocation through the effigy burning, particularly on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
In a statement, ABVP said the effigy symbolised the destruction of “Naxalism, Leftism, Maoist violence, and anti-national ideologies.” It declared the act a pledge for “nation-building” and stated that JNU has no space for what it called divisive forces.
Responding, JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) asked why ABVP had not included Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, or leaders accused of inciting communal violence in Delhi in 2020. JNUSU also pointed to controversial figures like Gurmeet Ram Rahim, questioning the selective targeting in ABVP’s symbolism.
Authorities are monitoring the situation on campus, as both groups continue to exchange accusations of provocation and violence.
