On 25 March, the day of the Hindu festival Holi, there were clashes between members of the ABVP and the Student Union of North Eastern Hill University or Nehu, in Shillong. The Vice-president of the Union, Easterson Sohtun, apparently sustained injuries, due to the confrontation with the ABVP members.
Sohtun, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Hindi, recounted the event, “We aren’t against the celebration of Holi, the campus is a very diverse place and has students from many different communities, however, we don’t support the communalization or politicization of festivals by outsiders who enter campus without permission”
Sohtun, a member of the Khasi tribe, claims that he saw some individuals on the campus, who weren’t students, gathering to celebrate. He also added that these were allegedly members of the local ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) state chapter. They were also joined by members of WOSY (World Organization of Student and Youth) who had put up banners and had organized the event. Upon asking the security guard to check the IDs of some of the ‘outsiders’ present, the group began to shout casteist slurs at him and that they could not be stopped from celebrating their religious holidays, according to Sohtun. He further adds that they began to physically assault him when he objected to their claims.
However, members of ABVP’s Shillong unit have denied these claims, saying that the fight was started by members of NEHU’s Student Union who wanted to disrupt the programme. In a statement to the Meghalaya Monitor, the state joint secretary also added that members of the organization had been invited to attend the Holi event by WOSY, which is a non-political student platform active within the campus.
After a protest over the incident by the student body on 27 March, the university administration officially confirmed that they had not allowed WOSY to organize the Holi event under their banner, as the festival was usually celebrated by students and campus residents peacefully. Moreover, they added that they had not given the organizers any liberty to invite organizers to the campus for Holi.
A Master’s student at the University, Sonal K.S., added that this was the first time such an event had taken place on campus. “Usually all festivals are celebrated as a community, but there was an objection to the entry of outsiders onto campus, and the putting up of banners which let certain groups take credit for the event. The Vice-president solely intervened because there were some outsiders on the premises”
Two FIRs have been filed in regards to the matter, and the university administration has constituted a committee to launch an inquiry into the matter, according to members of the Student Union.
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