Miranda House Students Repeatedly Face Safety Issues Due to DUSU Elections

While DUSU elections are indicative of a vibrant political culture all over campus, they have also led to safety concerns over and over again, especially for students of girls’ colleges such as Miranda House.

Year after year, the Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) elections create an increasingly unsafe environment in university areas, especially for women. This year, once again, Miranda House students allegedly faced several instances of catcalling, harassment, and invasion of personal space by campaigneers affiliated with the various student political parties.

It was noticed that cars belonging to members of student parties were parked in a line in front of the Miranda House college campus, in addition to other areas in North Campus. This year, the gate most accessible by foot to the metro had been closed off for the pre-election and election time period by the college, citing security concerns. This obligated the students to take the long route to the metro station from the front gate. A student clarified,

It became really inconvenient for us—we had to walk through all the ABVP and NSUI party members who hung and drove around in groups, which became really uncomfortable at times. Even taking a rickshaw wasn’t an option sometimes due to the heavy traffic caused by their cars. This became especially bad in the week before DUSU elections took place.”

Several instances of Miranda House students being stalked, catcalled, and teased around and during the time of this year’s DUSU elections were recorded. Another mentioned;

On 14 September, when campaigning was in full swing, my friend and I were walking towards the Arts Faculty when a huge group of burly men gathered around us. They whistled at us, heckled us, and stared at us from head to toe. We were petrified and somehow made it out from there.

Miranda House College is no stranger to such incidents. During the 2023 DUSU elections, around 30 men allegedly affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) entered the all-girls’ college campus without permission, and reportedly disrupted classes, created chaos and made the students feel uncomfortable. The college’s guidelines, in accordance with the University’s, regarding DUSU campaigning inside the college campus allow for only up to five people, including the candidate themselves, to enter the college premises at a time, that too with valid ID cards and permission from the principal and the police.

However, despite these rules, the next year saw a similar incident taking place, namely during the 2024 DUSU elections. This time, the former DUSU president Ronak Khatri, and the then presidential candidate for NSUI, reportedly broke the college gates and entered the premises forcefully, once again creating a hostile environment for the students.

The Miranda House campus has long been a space where women felt safe from transgression and obscenity, a principle which seems to be violated almost every year during the election season. This year, many students, both day scholars and pg-renters, even asked for classes to be cancelled around the election day, giving safety issues as a reason.

Image Credits: Free Press Journal

Manya Marwah
[email protected]