A clash broke out between two groups of students at Jadavpur University over live-streaming on the campus of the Ram temple consecration ceremony.
The screening could not be held because the university authorities did not grant permission.
A group of students, said to be supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the RSS, entered the campus around 10.30am on Monday to organise the screening.
They were stopped by another group of students who are supporters of the CPM students’ wing, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and a clash broke out between the two groups near gate number 3.
The authorities intervened and asked the students to show restraint.
“A group of students had written to us asking for permission (to live-stream the inauguration ceremony
of the Ram temple). We did not give them the permission,” said registrar Snehamanju Basu.
The clash was preceded by slogan-shouting on the campus.
“The teachers and university authorities appealed to the students to show restraint because a section of students was writing exams,” said Subhodip Bandyopadhyay, vice-president of the Kolkata district committee of the SFI, who completed his masters from JU.
“There is a tendency to attack educational institutions where students question a political party’s undemocratic ways,” said Bandyopadhyay.
A group of students had written to the registrar of Jadavpur University seeking permission “to organise
a screening of the Ram
Mandir inauguration ceremony... on our university
premises”.
“Specifically, we envision setting up the screen near the 4 No. gate parking lot for optimal accessibility and convenience,” they had written in the letter.
Debanjan Paul, the ABVP’s state media convener, said: “The students had gone to the campus with projectors but were not allowed to live-stream the ceremony. Some of the students who had wanted to do the screening were injured in the attack.”
In the evening, students from the Left-backed unions organised a procession from JU to Dhakuria with an appeal for peace on the campus.
“We marched to appeal for peace on the campus and to say that such incidents of violence spoil the educational atmosphere on a campus,” said Bandyopadhyay.
The students were initially stopped by police right outside the campus because they had no permission to march through the thoroughfare.
A police team led by deputy commissioner, south suburban division, then escorted the students to Dhakuria and back to the campus.
“The students claimed to have announced the procession on social media. But that is not same as seeking permission. So we stopped them,” said an officer at Jadavpur police station.