Saffron flags, chants, and a packed Sundar Kand, University of Delhi turned festive this Hanuman Janmotsav, as devotion met debate on what religion looks like in a “secular” campus.
On April 2, students from the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Arts at University of Delhi marked Hanuman Janmotsav with an unprecedented scale of participation and visibility on campus. The occasion witnessed extensive decorations, with saffron flags festooned across both faculties and along the main thoroughfares. Posters lined the stretch from the Faculty of Law to the Faculty of Arts, signaling what many described as the first such large-scale celebration of the festival within the university space.
The central event was held at the Hanuman Mandir near the Faculty of Arts, located just outside the Arts Faculty gate. Students gathered for a collective recitation of the Sundar Kand, a significant section of the Ramcharitmanas, followed by the distribution of prasad among attendees. The atmosphere remained devotional, with a steady turnout of students participating in the rituals and associated activities.
The scale and visibility of the celebration have sparked conversations about the place of religious expression within a public university setting. While for many participants the event represented cultural assertion and community bonding, others view such developments as raising important questions about maintaining the secular ethos traditionally associated with academic institutions like Delhi University.
Image Credits – DU Beat
Madhav Choudhary
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