Jamia students protest RSS centenary event on campus
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New Delhi: Tension prevailed at Jamia Millia Islamia on Tuesday after a group of students staged a protest against a programme marking the 100th anniversary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
More than 50 students, largely from the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI) and other left-affiliated student groups, raised slogans opposing the event and said: “RSS has no place in Jamia”.
A heavy police deployment was made around the university campus as the situation escalated. According to one of the protesting students who spoke to PTI, the RSS event organisers attempted to bring the chief guest inside the auditorium through multiple entry points, while students continued their protest outside. The university proctorial team was also present at the spot.
The programme is part of the ‘Yuva Kumbh’ initiative, organised to mark the centenary celebrations of the RSS. The protest followed a statement issued a day earlier by the SFI unit of Jamia, which termed the event a “direct provocation”.
“Celebrating its centenary on a campus that houses thousands of minority students is a direct provocation and an affront to their dignity and safety,” the SFI said in its statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, the university administration had not issued any immediate response on the incident.
The protest comes months after similar objections were raised at over a dozen colleges under Delhi University over hosting Yuva Kumbh-related events on their campuses.
With PTI inputs