Chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, says ABVP at Ambedkar seminar in DU college

“Around 20 minutes after we had started, some 15-20 ABVP members barged into the room, chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai and ABVP zindabad. They misbehaved with us and the professors. They stood on the benches and pointed to some specific students and told them – “if you’re not a Pakistani, then shout Bharat Mata ki Jai,” said one of the organisers, who did not wish to be named.

“Last time too they disrupted a seminar on caste issues. I don’t know what their problem with the seminar was; we were merely discussing the Annihilation of Caste by Ambedkar. The professor was speaking only on technical issues, like what are the functions of caste etc, so it wasn’t even political,” another organiser said, adding that the seminar was an “informal discussion”.

However, college union joint secretary Krishna Kumar Rai from the ABVP, said the DDF was making an issue unnecessarily. “First of all they didn’t have permission to hold this programme so we had gone to intervene on that front. Secondly, how can these communist upper castes hold a discussion on caste? They’re just trying to pit castes against each other, like Dalits against Brahmins, and create disharmony,” he said.

“We did not compelled anyone to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai. But we asked them what is their problem in saying it; every Indian says it. These people chant anti-national slogans in JNU in the name of freedom of speech, and we can’t even say Bharat Mata ki Jai?” Rai added.

When contacted by the Indian Express, Deshbandhu Principal Ajay Arora said he had not received any communication from either side on the matter. However, he said the organisers held the event ‘illegally’.

“The college has not given an approval for any such seminar or discussion. If somebody is holding such a discussion it is illegal. As far as the incident is concerned, I have not got any communication from either side. If we do, appropriate action will be taken,” he said.