Students detained over unapproved Deepawali event at Jamia Millia after scuffle

New Delhi: Delhi Police detained around half a dozen students who gathered at Jamia Millia Islamia University for Deepawali celebrations on Wednesday, October 23, a day after a scuffle broke out between two groups of students during a similar event.

A senior police official stated the detentions were made because the university administration, in view of last night’s scuffle, had not granted permission to hold another Deepawali event this evening.

Approximately 30-40 students affiliated with ABVP, including those from other universities like JNU and DU, gathered outside the university to hold a ‘Deep Mahotsav’.

The police asked them to leave due to the lack of permission from the university.

“Some ABVP-affiliated students arrived outside the university, but the police repeatedly asked them to leave. However, the ABVP supporters were adamant about celebrating Deepawali. In the meantime, the police used mild force to remove them from outside the university,” the official said.

The students did not have permission from the university to hold the event again on Wednesday, the officer added.

On Tuesday night, a scuffle broke out between two groups of students during Deepawali celebrations at Jamia Millia Islamia University leading to police personnel being deployed outside its gates as a precautionary measure, police officers said.

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A police officer noted that no complaint had been received regarding the incident.

The Diwali event was organised by the Rashtriya Kala Manch (RKM), a dimension of the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the university. The ABVP planned to hold a ‘Deep Mahotsav’ again on Wednesday evening.

Jamia minorities alumni express concern

Meanwhile, the Association of Minorities at Jamia criticised the incident, expressing concern over the allegedly increasing attacks on minority Hindu students at the university. They demanded that the university launch an investigation and take strict action against the perpetrators.

In a statement, the association said, “On Tuesday evening, during the peaceful Deepotsav celebration at Jamia Millia Islamia, students (including Muslim students) were joyfully participating and exercising their constitutional right to celebrate a festival. Unfortunately, at the end of the event, a group of anti-social elements accompanied by outsiders began shouting slogans such as ‘Palestine Zindabad’ and ‘Allah hu Akbar.'”

“It is important to note that such incidents at the university are not new. Similar events have occurred in the past, and no decisive action has been taken by either the police or the university administration,” the statement continued, listing previous incidents of a similar nature.

“We, the JMI Alumni Association of Minorities, are deeply concerned about the safety and security of non-Muslim students, as well as their cultural and religious rights on campus,” it added.

The association also demanded the university administration must to create a body to address the complaints of aggrieved students.

Calls and messages to Jamia Millia Islamia University’s officiating Vice Chancellor, Mohammad Shakeel, went unanswered.

Communal slogans chanted on Tuesday

According to police, the scuffle broke out after one group of students disrupted the Deepawali celebrations of another group. The situation was brought under control, and the students dispersed following the intervention of university security personnel.

Videos purportedly showing students chanting “communal” slogans inside the campus have been circulating on social media. After receiving information about tensions within the university, police personnel were deployed outside its gates and around the campus as a precautionary measure, the officer said. Another senior officer stated that local police had been instructed to increase vigilance around the campus.

Unfazed by the incident, students planned to hold a ‘Deep Mahotsav’ on the campus on Wednesday evening, according to ABVP national media convener Ashutosh Singh.

“Educational institutions should be open to celebrating all festivals. If an Iftar party can be organized on campus, Diwali celebrations should also be allowed. We had permission from the proctor’s office for the event held on Tuesday evening,” Singh said.

“There were other students, including Muslims, celebrating with us, but some radical elements came and physically assaulted them,” he alleged, adding that the university did not take adequate measures to prevent violence, given the sensitive nature of the issue. Singh stated that the ABVP would file a police complaint regarding the matter.

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