Kolkata: Tensions erupted in West Bengal's Jadavpur University on Thursday after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-leaning student groups clashed with each other on the main campus in South Kolkata, leaving several injured. The confrontation started over a meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union (FETSU) on Wednesday and continued late into the night, one of the varsity officials said. Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya said the incident was undesirable and that a committee will be constituted to investigate it.
The issue escalated into a political row after the CPI(M) accused Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of declaring a war on the new generation and students.West Bengal CPI(M) secretary Mohammed Salim on Thursday claimed that RSS-affiliated ABVP launched an attack on those who speak of education, culture and free thinking during a clash at Jadavpur University here.He also alleged that ABVP activists were terming free-thinking students as "dimagi Naxals".
"Jadavpur University has been targeted as part of a war declared against the new generation and students by the Sangh Parivar," Salim said, while addressing a press conference at the CPI(M) state headquarters here.
Salim said that ABVP supporters, with the aid of the police and administration, also held a gathering at the university on Thursday to pitch their battle against those who love education, including the students, teachers and employees of the varsity.
"A group of students, not just SFI activists, but all those who are against communalism, came together to thwart a pro-Hindutva attack on the education sector," he said.
The CPI(M) leader also accused the ABVP of trying to instill fear among the students.He claimed that a replica of a famous picture depicting the battle against fascist forces in Germany was vandalised during the early Thursday unrest at the university, which he said is known for open thinking and respect for divergent views.
CPI(M) youth leader Dipsita Dhar alleged that BJP MLA Sarbari Mukherjee provoked the ABVP agitators.However, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the ABVP is not the students' wing of the saffron party, maintaining that it is a nationalistic students’ body, which functions independently.
What happened on the campus?On Thursday afternoon, ABVP supporters breached police barricades and reached the locked entrance of the varsity’s gate number 4, while Left-leaning students gathered in large numbers inside the campus to resist the attempted entry. A group of SFI supporters also clashed with the police outside the university at the 8B bus stand area in the southern part of Kolkata, after they attempted to breach security barricades and march towards gate number 4.Jadavpur University's administrative building, Aurobindo Bhavan, was locked amid escalating tensions, while groups of students gathered outside. Videos circulating among students' social media groups showed several people shouting slogans and attempting to enter locked buildings of the university.The vice chancellor said he has spoken to several students, faculty members and officials, including the officiating registrar.
“Different ideologies co-exist on the campus. Being an alumnus of JU, I had been exposed to this plurality of views, the liberal space provided by this university. As the VC, I think the law of the land should be applicable on campus, and there should be security,” he told reporters.Bhattacharya said that the varsity authorities are against a police outpost on the campus following a high court order.
“If such undesirable things happen, we have to take enhanced steps for campus security. Entry of outsiders has been restricted on the campus after dusk. We will set up an inquiry committee to trace the circumstances," he said.
ABVP functionary Shubhabrata Adhikari alleged that several people from outside the university were involved in the attack, and police complaints were lodged. He also said members of the organisation had gathered outside the Jadavpur Police Station in protest.
Meanwhile, SFI state secretary Debanjan Dey told reporters during the demonstration that “activists of the RSS, BJP and ABVP led by a local BJP leader stormed into the campus last night and were involved in vandalism”.
Police have deployed additional forces around the university in anticipation of further demonstrations.
Later, at a press conference, SFI leaders claimed that repeated attempts were made to alert the university authorities about the "entry by outsiders" on August 19 night, but no response was received. They also alleged that the campus gates were “kept open for the attackers”.
A Jadavpur University official said: "FETSU members allegedly slapped a worker of the ABVP unit of the university during the confrontation. Later, a mob, allegedly comprising local BJP workers, entered the campus around 1 a.m., and beat up members of the Left-leaning student unions."
The Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) condemned the entry of outsiders on the campus and acts of vandalism. It also called for a half-day ‘ceasework’ by the faculty in protest against alleged acts of vandalism on the varsity compound.
JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy said in a statement that the sequence of events in the varsity should come under judicial probe, and “an FIR lodged against acts of arson and rampage by outsiders on the campus on August 19 midnight”. The All Bengal University Teachers Association (JU chapter) also condemned the "attack by outsiders on university property".