Indian-foreign students clash at Parul University: Management steps in to broker truce
Nine students from Afghanistan and African nations were remanded in judicial custody for alleged rioting Wednesday, following Sunday’s clash at the hostel.
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Need for cultural orientation, says MSU student and Afghan national Syed Khalid Sadat. (Source: Bhupendra Rana)
Days after Indian and foreign students clashed at Parul University hostel, varsity management on Thursday stepped in to mediate between the groups, even as uneasy calm prevailed on campus. Nine students from Afghanistan and African nations were remanded in judicial custody for alleged rioting Wednesday, following Sunday’s clash at the hostel. An Afghan student said, “We initiated a meeting with the help of the university management and the two groups have assured each other that they will end the animosity. Our embassy representatives came from Delhi and are helping in the legal process.”
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A student from an African nation, who was also a witness to the clash, said that the rivalry between the two groups was “old and bitter”. The student said, “The animosity crept in early in August between two students — one from Afghanistan and the other from India. It led to a verbal spat and since that day, we have been unable to see eye-to-eye. Even on that night, it was a fight initially between those two boys and they beat up each other. The Indian student went back and returned with a group 700 students, who attacked the international hostel.”
However, Devanshu Patel, a member of the Board of Trustees of the University, said, “We were not aware about any rivalry. No violent incident has taken place on our campus in the past. There has been no complaint reported to us.”
Meanwhile, the nine arrested foreign students moved the Savli session court on Thursday, seeking bail in the case. Defence lawyer Kaushik Bhatt said, “We argued before the judge that the incident was not intentional. It was triggered by a petty issue among the youth.”
Spokespersons from the Afghan embassy said they were in constant touch with the authorities to ensure that the academic career of the students was not affected by the incident.
Foreign students in the city, especially those from Afghanistan, are concerned after the incident. Syed Khalid Sadat, a native of Kabul and student at MSU’s Faculty of Journalism and Communication, said that several people have been asking him “why Afghans like to fight?”
“It disturbs me… The truth is that we have come here to study… We have come from a strife-torn country. If we wanted to fight, we could have stayed back and fought there,” he said.
Khalid, 27, who is also the coordinator for 12 foreign nationals studying in MSU, said that the Parul University incident could have been averted if the students were introduced to Indian culture as part of orientation.
“I feel that a lot of the friction between people happens when they lack understanding about each other’s culture…. Fortunately, my friends have been really welcoming and I do not feel I am in another country anymore,” Khalid added.
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