Days after contentious slogans were written on the walls of the Banaras Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh, an FIR has been registered against unidentified persons over the lettering, The Indian Express reported on Monday, 2 May.
The FIR has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the university's authorities. The complaint notes that the slogans, scrawled in Hindi, advocate separatism in Kashmir and calls for eradicating Brahmanism from the varsity, as per the report.
The slogans were reportedly written on the walls of the campus on 27 April, following which security was deployed on campus. While it was alleged that left-leaning student group Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha (BCM) was behind the lettering, as per a report by news agency ANI, the organisation has distanced itself from the slogans.
A BCM representative told The Indian Express that students who had been protesting against the slogans had links with the student wing of the RSS and the ABVP.
The students' organisation has also alleged that the mention of the group's name amidst the slogans was a conspiracy to defame its members.
The controversy comes close on the heels of another row in BHU, wherein the Varansi university saw protests against an iftar party organised in the Women's College inside the campus.
The Row Over the Iftar Party
On the evening of 27 April, the Mahila Mahavidyalaya (MMV) in BHU organised an Iftar party, where Vice-Chancellor Professor Sudhir Kumar Jain was also present. The fasting teachers and students of the Women's College broke their Ramzan fast and had Iftar at the event attended by top university officials.
Following the Iftar dinner, several students proteststed against the party where the university's officials were present, and and demanded an apology from the VC. A video of the demonstration captured the students holding the burning effigy, and chanting 'BHU mein iftaari nahi chalegi. Vice chancellor murdabaad' (There will be no Iftaari in BHU, down with the vice chancellor).
On 29 April, a student tonsured his head outside the vice-chancellor’s residence in protest. The students further recited the Hanuman Chalisa in front of the university as a counter to the iftar dinner.
The BHU had issued an official statement in response to the protests, which stated, "The tradition of organising iftar in BHU dates back more than two decades. These iftars were attended by subsequent Vice-Chancellors over the years in the capacity of head of the BHU fraternity and as per their availability on the campus. Attempts to disturb the peace and academic atmosphere of Banaras Hindu University are unacceptable and condemnable."
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)