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Communal Flashpoint at SAU: ABVP Members Allegedly Assault Students Over Non-Veg Food

By DU Beat February 27, 2025

A violent altercation allegedly erupted at South Asian University (SAU) on Wednesday when members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) reportedly clashed with students, including women, and mess staff over the serving of non-vegetarian food on Maha Shivratri.

According to reports, tensions had been brewing in the days leading up to Maha Shivratri as ABVP members insisted that only ‘sattvik’ food be served in the university mess, citing religious sentiments. However, the mess committee decided to provide both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options to accommodate all dietary preferences. Despite this, the issue allegedly escalated when ABVP members, led by Ratan Singh, Anshul Sharma, and Ram Sharma, entered the mess and confronted the staff and students.

They had been discussing this in WhatsApp groups for days. We ensured vegetarian food was available, so why should others be forced to follow their dietary choices?
– Yashada, the mess secretary and a master’s student

She further alleged that Ratan Singh threw food on the floor and later turned violent, physically assaulting her.

The incident has drawn strong reactions from various student groups. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) condemned the attack, stating:

This is a strategic attempt to instill divisive hate. The ABVP-Admin-BJP nexus stands exposed as no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators. The demand for separating non-veg food reeks of casteism.

Despite multiple complaints, SAU’s administration has yet to issue a statement on the matter. Students have accused the Dean and Proctor of allegedly shielding ABVP members from accountability. Yashada had reportedly filed a harassment complaint against Ratan Singh earlier, supported by video evidence, but no action was taken.

ABVP, however, denied the allegations, claiming that left-wing students instigated the altercation.

Students observing a fast on Maha Shivratri had requested sattvik food. 110 students had written to the administration, and their request was granted. When they were eating in a separate space, a left cadre member and mess representative allegedly brought fish curry and started arguing. When they were requested to eat elsewhere, she allegedly created a scene and threw food at them; this was intentional, just like the disruption of the Diwali celebrations at Jamia. Those who thrive on division feel threatened by cultural harmony among students.
– an ABVP representative

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has called for the immediate suspension of those allegedly involved and a thorough investigation into past complaints.

Students allege that the attack reflects a pattern where right-wing groups resort to violence while the administration remains unresponsive.

What happened at SAU is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader attempt to create divisions among students in university spaces. The lack of action against those accused of violence is deeply concerning.
– An AISA representative

Calls for an impartial investigation into the incident have intensified, with student organisations demanding that the university administration take decisive steps to address the alleged assault and ensure accountability. As of now, no official statement has been released by SAU authorities regarding the incident.

Featured Image Credits: The Indian Express

Ritobrita Mukherjee for DU Beat

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Student protest in Ramjas College against the sexual harassment charges on Prof. Dhani Ram violently disrupted by ABVP

By DU Beat January 9, 2025

Members allegedly of ABVP disrupt protest in Ramjas College on 8th January against Prof. Dhani Ram’s sexual harassment allegations. The protestors demanded that the college administration suspend the professor officially and reconstitute the ICC. The miscreants severely injured a student from the North East and threatened violence against a professor of English who intervened. Cases of sexual harassment, marking the above, continue to rise, alongside politically charged violence within academic spaces.

Dhani Ram’s history of sexual harassment charges

In December 2024, a minor and a first year undergraduate student of Ramjas College filed a case against Dhani Ram, professor of the commerce department and joint dean of Dean of Students’ Welfare, DU at the Internal Complaints Committee of the college over charges of molestation and sexual harassment. This complaint was the fourth official complaint against the commerce professor filed at the ICC of the college with several other unofficial accusations of harassment that could not be filed officially, including a 2021 letter by M. Com Students of batch 2022 written to the then Secretary of the University Grants Commission (UGC) highlighting his ‘unethical and unprofessional teaching methodology’. The negligence displayed towards the previous complaints highlight the inaction of the college authorities and the ICC regarding his conduct and his abuse of power on multiple occasions. It was only after calls of protest by the student body, AISA and SFI that Prof. Dhani Ram was temporarily suspended from the college on 24th December 2024 pending the ICC enquiry, though an official notice of his suspension has not yet been released by the college.

ABVP’s violence and disruption of the 8th January protests

Due to the inaction of the college authorities for a duration exceeding 10 days since the filing of the complaint, Stanzin, the Vice-President of the Ramjas College Student Union, issued a call for protest on 8th January 2025. The protest demanded that the victim’s consent be taken into consideration, the reconstitution of the ICC, timely enquiry into and suspension of the accused professor, and transparency during the enquiry, including the publication of an official suspension order on the college website. However, when the students along with the members of SFI and AISA gathered in the Eco Lawns at 12:30 to make posters for the protest against sexual harassment, several students of the college and outsiders, alleged to be members of ABVP by the Left parties and the students, disrupted the protest and tore the posters. They harassed and attacked the student protestors with flower pots and sticks, particularly targeting a third year student from the North East, leading the student to suffer severe bleeding and injuries. Further, when a professor from the English department intervened to put a stop to the violence and request the group to stick to the cause rather than fight among themselves, he too was threatened by the outsider students with violence and later falsely accused of perpetrating violence himself. Despite the disruption of the protest, the student body, along with the Left parties, demanded action against the violence from the administration and issued a call for a protest against sexual harassment and the violence meted out by who they claimed to be ABVP members, outside the college in the evening.

ABVP’s protest, Prof. Dhani Ram’s supposed resignation and the Left vs Right debate

Meanwhile, the members of ABVP locked the Dean of Students’ Welfare office and conducted a sit-in protest in the office demanding Professor Dhani Ram’s resignation. A notice released by Mitravinda Karanwal, the secretary of DUSU, and signed by Bhanu Pratap Singh, the Vice President of DUSU, claimed:

By the orders of the students of Delhi University and ABVP led DUSU, Dhaniram shall not be allowed to enter his office and continue as the Joint Dean of Students’ Welfare, DU, till the enquiry against him is concluded and decision made.

Later, a screenshot of a mail supposedly written by Prof. Dhani Ram was circulated over social media by ABVP Delhi which claimed that Prof. Dhani Ram resigned due to its “persistent efforts”. However, no official confirmation about the accused professor’s resignation as the Joint Dean of DSW has been received. Further, Dhani Ram’s suspension from the post of Joint Dean does not indicate his suspension or termination as a professor in Ramjas College. His suspension and termination as a professor also do not guarantee the prevention of such cases in the future, leading to the necessity of addressing the larger problem of sexual harassment in universities with particular focus on the POCSO Act.

Stanzin, the Vice President of Ramjas College, resolved to continue the movement despite the alleged violence by ABVP:

We wish to ask why the ABVP is protecting sexual harassers and perpetrators. We further ask why the administration is complicit in the organised violence against common students. What occurred in Ramjas during the protest was wholly unconstitutional and barbaric. We condemn it to the fullest terms and demand justice for both the survivor as well as the students. Further, I want to emphasise that they will not silence us and we will continue to fight resiliently. While the ABVP is publicising that Dhani Ram has resigned from the post of Joint Dean of Students’ Welfare, no formal action has been taken against him. The administration is complicit in protecting him and we demand his immediate suspension and the reconstitution of the ICC. Since our demands have not been fulfilled, our fight continues.

A former student of the college and member of AISA added:

The attack by the goons today—it is amply clear that the people who inflicted the violence today were from ABVP—is the clearest expression of the state of democracy on our campus, in which, students cannot even gather to protest against sexual harassment on their own campus. There is a litany of regulations which is supposed to prevent sexual harrassment on campus, because sexual harassment is so fundamentally antithetical to a healthy teaching-learning environment, but all of these regulations are merely on paper. It is the students’ right to demonstrate and gather in their own college, and whenever the administration is incapable of directly suppressing these movements, it has time and again made use of goons to intimidate student organising, an example of which we also saw last year in the protests in BHU. ABVP and people aligned with it, in attacking the students today have proved that they stand with the perpetrators, the harassers, and all their claims of gender justice is a farce. The students of Ramjas College have bravely resisted all attempts at suppression, have done so today, and will continue to do so.

Rising cases of Harassment by professors and acts of violence in Ramjas; problems within the ICC

The sexual harassment case against Prof. Dhani Ram is not an isolated case in the college or the university as several students have also reported other cases of sexual harassment by professors in Ramjas College in the past few years that have either not been reported due to the influential positions of the accused or not been thoroughly investigated by the ICC. Further, the students of the college have also reported a rise in acts of physical violence during conferences, society events and auditions, and the everyday functioning of the college by students of the college, outsiders, and members of ABVP. The recent attack on student protestors by the members allegedly of the ABVP is a continuation of the acts of violence meted out to students and faculty in 2017 and 2019, and it raises grave concerns about the safety and security of students within the campus space. The college authorities must address the growing cases of sexual harassment by professors, the rise in the cases of violence, and reform and reconstitute the ICC, a body that has been reduced to inaction, complicity, shaming the victims and protecting the culprits, in accordance with the students’ demands for transparency and respect for the survivor’s consent.

A third year student of the college who had joined the protest remarks:

The recent act of violence during the protest by ABVP members is a shameful and concerning attempt to distract attention from the sexual harassment case. I found that several members of the staff association except for one did not even do the bare minimum. Important as it is for us to condemn violence, we must also ensure that we do not reduce this case to a left vs right battle and bring our focus back to the harassment case. This is sadly not the only case we have seen in the college as professors from the English and history departments regularly harass students sexually and verbally. We have even heard some of them slutshame their own colleagues behind their backs and we see them regularly harass female professors in the department meetings. These cases highlight a growing sense of institutional amnesia in the college and university where a large majority of students and professors no longer address such cases, thereby normalising them. It is important that the survivor in this particular case gets justice, Prof. Dhani Ram is suspended, and the larger problem of sexual harassment within university spaces is addressed, bringing into light other such cases as well.

Aadrit, a former student of the college who had also joined the protest added:

I went there as a common student, not as a part of any political party. I am a part of none anyway. I went there because it was important—not because a North East student was brutally beaten—that happened later and violence of all forms must be condemned—but because, first and foremost, it was a case of sexual harassment and my experience has been one where such cases routinely are brushed under the carpet; be it Hathras, RG Kar, or the previous offenses of Dhani Ram. Against the backdrop of the present situation, as the right and the left continue their war, I urge all students, faculty and others, to come together and stand in one unwavering spirit so that justice is done, ICCs are fixed, the system is corrected, and Dhani Ram and all those like him are held accountable. The focus must not shift. We must remember what we are up against: patriarchy. And we must all stand in solidarity in this arduous struggle for gender liberation which involves the fight against all forms of injustice.

Neha, the Secretary of SFI Ramjas, highlighted a systemic problem with the ICC of the college:

There have been multiple violations of ICC guidelines. The complaint has not got any reply from the admin even after 20 days when they should have released one within 7 days. Those who are a part of this enquiry committee consist of the same people who had protected Dhani Ram 2 years back in another sexual harassment case. While UGC guidelines say that people in enquiry committees should have work on gender, these teachers don’t have that merit either.

Further, a member of the college’s student union claimed in yesterday’s protest that a member of the college’s current ICC, which is investigating the Dhani Ram case, has had an alleged case registered against himself in the ICC, a body he is now a significant part of, on which account no action has been taken by the college authorities, highlighting the supposedly corrupt and complicit nature of the body.

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Picture Credits: SFI Delhi Instagram Page

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DUSU 2024: An Election in Waiting

By DU Beat October 20, 2024

Characteristic of DUSU elections, the DUSU elections for the session 2024–25 were also a display of money and muscle power, tearing up of nomination forms, and a rather irreverent attitude towards the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines for the elections. The emergence of identity-based parties, an SFI-AISA alliance, and the Delhi HC directive to postpone counting of votes augur major changes. Despite this, the voter turnout remained abysmally low at 35.2%, the lowest of the past 4 elections, and from what students claim, this reduction seems to be manufactured by the administration.

Slated to start its counting post the 21st of this month after the court hearing scheduled on the same date, this year’s DUSU elections were different from all previous elections. From the alliance between the Left and the emergence of identity-based parties like Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) and Fraternity Movement in DUSU to the last moment introduction of special buses, the inauguration and removal of a miniature Ambedkar statue by the DUSU, and eleventh hour changes in presidential candidates of major parties, this election saw it all and was, by far, one of the most happening elections of all times. Despite these developments, it seems unlikely to have such a low voter turnout. Though the hostile nature of the campus during elections and the rather short time frame for voting discourage a lot of students, especially female students, and thus, voter turnout appeared unnaturally low.

According to Hindustan Times, the voter turnout for this year was 35.2%. It is important to remember how the voter turnout is calculated in order to understand the trends for this election, as the figure measures the number of votes cast as a percentage of the eligible voters rather than the number of voters who come to their institutions to cast votes. It is the gap between the number of eligible voters who show up on the day of voting and the number of votes cast, reflecting the number of voters who were unable to cast their vote despite showing up on the day of elections. While this gap has emerged in the previous elections too, it seems to have widened rapidly in this election, making it seem ‘manufactured’ by the administration to decrease the number of votes cast, as per the claims of the students. This gap was exacerbated by issuing last-minute notices in several colleges that set out the eligibility criteria to vote in the elections and made students stand in long queues in administrative offices on the day of voting, to update their ID cards that took hours, leading to situations where the voters were unable to cast their vote past, despite their early arrival in college. Further, in several colleges, only a handful of polling booths were allotted for the entire institution despite the availability of more polling booths, making 1000s of eligible voters poll from a single booth. These booths were also changed at the last moment, creating confusion around the venue for voting.

A third-year student from Ramjas College notes:

I couldn’t vote because I was 2 minutes late. There was a big jam on the campus, and no auto was able to make it through, and as soon as I got to the college gate, they didn’t let us in. I waited there for a while to enter, and as soon as I did, there was so much confusion with the venue of the voting; some said the auditorium, and some said other classes. When I finally found the classroom, they didn’t let me join the line as I was 2 minutes late. The faculty was rude, and they were shouting at us without listening to a word we said. I wasn’t the only one who was left out, and there were a lot of other students as well.

Though several colleges had sent out last-minute notices about verification of fee slips and upgradation of ID cards for all voters, in stark contrast, it turns out that at several institutions, the faculty was not checking whether the ID cards of students had been upgraded.

Another third-year student from Ramjas notes:

Though the college had notified students to verify their ID cards, several students, including me, were only asked about our courses and year of study and were allowed to vote even regardless of whether our ID cards were updated or not. The faculty members at the polling booths were not following the rules as a lot of students were in the queue to vote. While I was voting, the DUSU presidential candidate of a major political party entered our booth and was openly campaigning, and no faculty members present in the booth stopped him, despite this being a clear violation of the guidelines. They rather allowed him to speak.

Though bureaucratic mismanagement and chaos are natural in such a large election, a lot of the aforementioned incidents seem deliberate and conscious attempts to dissuade students from voting. Even while the students were verifying their ID cards, the candidates were openly campaigning and helping those in queue using their contacts in the college administration to get their ID cards verified faster to garner more votes. This ensures that only a selective and chosen crowd gets to vote in the elections, and a large crowd of students is not allowed to exercise their right to vote despite their attempts to do so.

A student from Miranda House notes the manufactured chaos in the order of voting in the elections:

Students remember the ballot numbers of each candidate, and that’s how polling booths are supposed to work. In Miranda House, in the initial phase when the elections started, the order of positions in the polling booth was informed to us as President, followed by Vice President, Secretary, and the Joint-Secretary but later on, as the elections went forward, they altered the position. The Joint-Secretary’s position was moved to the first, and the President’s position was moved to the last in the polling booth which caused a lot of confusion among students because that is not how you come memorising the numbers.

Though bureaucratic mismanagement led to a further decrease of voter turnout, the developments in this year’s elections will have a long-term impact. With the strict action taken by the Delhi High Court to ensure that counting doesn’t begin until public defacement is removed, it could potentially tamper with the results but might result in lesser defacement and a violation of rules next year. Further, the directive to ensure 50% reservation of women in DUSU would also have a positive impact. In terms of party politics, sudden changes in candidates of major parties post-nominations and the withdrawal of community support following the same might lead to a reflection about the role of caste politics in DUSU. The emergence of identity-based parties and the alliance among the Left would also ensure that the ABVP-NSUI binary is challenged in the upcoming years.

Picture Credits: Nehal for DU Beat

Vedant Nagrani

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Drunk and Urinating on “Roll of Honour” Nameplate – NSUI Suspected in Shocking Vandalism Case

By DU Beat July 17, 2024

Video and audio clips of a vandalised DUSU office surfaced on the 14th of July. ABVP members claimed NSUI involvement and took to social media to condemn the alleged heinous act. The University of Delhi has set up a 4-member board to investigate the vandalism at DUSU office and an FIR has been registered.

As political tensions further burgeon between the incumbent DUSU President, Tushar Dedha from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Abhi Dahiya, DUSU Vice President, representative of NSUI, a case of ruthless vandalism at the DUSU office has left the DUSU members smarting and has invited a grim prognosis for the suspected vandals. The office of the President, Tushar Dedha; Secretary, Aparajita; Joint Secretary, Sachin Baisla and the visitor’s room have been ransacked by whom ABVP members alleged were NSUI goons, possibly led by Mr. Abhi Dahiya.

DU Proctor Rajni Abbi has revealed in conversation with Indian Express on Sunday that ongoing investigations have discovered several liquor bottles in Mr. Dahiya’s office. The ABVP has also alleged that the violent act had been carried out under the influence of alcohol, at around 3AM the same morning. The ABVP has taken to social media to expose the extent of damage caused to the public eye, wherein claims of NSUI goons having urinated on the “Roll of Honour” Nameplate, thrown out statues of religious icon Ram and the framed portrait of leader Swami Vivekananda have been documented. RSS-affiliated ABVP in a statement floated on Sunday condemned the Congress’s student wing –

“Between 3-4 AM this morning, NSUI goons broke into the Delhi University Students’ Union office, causing chaos. They broke the doors of the offices of President Tushar Dedha and Secretary Aparajita, vandalised the office, and threw out statues of Lord Ram and pictures of great leaders like Swami Vivekananda.”

In an interview with Press Trust of India (PTI), secretary Aparajita confessed

“As the only female student representative working at this level, I feel unsafe in my own office.”

DUSU Vice-President Abhi Dahiya has released a statement on his Instagram on Monday, following the allegations, accusing ABVP goons to have likewise vandalised his office “first” in retaliation for his attempt last week to uncover the “fraudulent means” used by the Mr. Dedha to gain admission in DU, and the “false affidavit” submitted by him in order to contest elections. He claimed that the incident was orchestrated as an act of diversion from the critical issue of the fabricated documents, urging that there be a thorough investigation into the matter and entreating students to not get carried away by the propaganda fuelled by ABVP. “This act of vandalism and fear mongering not only damages DUSU property but also threatens the safety and integrity of our student community” he wrote on social media.

An official intimation conveyed the decision of the varsity’s administration to set up a 4-member panel comprising Delhi University Proctor Rajni Abbi, Dean of Students’ Welfare Ranjan Kumar Tripathi, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) staff advisor Surender Kumar, and Joint Proctor Geeta Sahare, to probe into the matter. The panel endeavours to submit its report within seven days.

Featured Image Credits : ABVP Delhi Instagram Page

Aayudh Pramanik

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Controversy Erupts Over Tushar Dedha’s Presidential Candidature as DUSU VP Files Complaint

By DU Beat July 9, 2024

DUSU Vice President, Abhi Dahiya, filed a complaint with the Delhi University Vice-chancellor on Friday, 5 July 2024, against the DUSU President Tushar Dedha alleging that, “he produced a false affidavit to contest elections.” However, Tushar Dedha has denied such allegations.

On Friday, 5 July 2024, DUSU (Delhi University Student Union) Vice President – Abhi Dahiya, filed a complaint against the DUSU President Tushar Dedha, with the Delhi University Vice-chancellor, alleging that the latter used “illegal means” to get admission to the University and produced a false affidavit to contest elections.

(Image Source: Abhi Dahiya via Instagram)

Incidentally, this is not the first time a DUSU President has been (allegedly) “exposed” for using illegal means to secure admission into the University. In 2018, the former ABVP-led DUSU President Ankiv Baisoya was involved in a similar incident. Following the NSUI presidential candidate Sunny Chillar’s challenge to Baisoya’s elections on the same grounds, the then-DUSU President resigned from his position and has been sacked by the ABVP. This occurred when his bachelor’s degree from Thiruvalluvar University in Tamil Nadu was found to be fraudulent.

Abhi Dahiya, in conversation with DU Beat, spoke out about the issue:

“The current DUSU President, Tushar Dedha has used ‘illegal means’ to gain admission within Delhi University. As per the records, the DUSU President holds two examination marksheets of intermediate class (Standard 12)- one from CBSE in Arts examination and the other from Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh in Science Stream. How is it possible for one person to pass from two boards at two different places with two different streams? We urge the University to take stringent action against him as he does not deserve to remain the President for another minute, let alone an entire year.”

In his official complaint filed to the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, the Vice President of Delhi University’s Student Union cites that:

“As per the record received, he (Tushar Dedha) has two examination certificate/marksheets of intermediate class (12th), one from CBSE in Arts stream having roll number 9130384 and the other from Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh in Science stream having roll number 0322496 District/School code 06/1328 both passed in year 2016 as a regular student.That as per the rules of both CBSE and Uttar Pradesh Board. It is mandatory for the regular student to have 75% attendance to appear in the 12th board examination and also, he has not passed equivalent Examination from any other Board. However, in case of Mr. Tushar Dedha, he holds two marksheets from two different Boards, both passed in year 2016 which is in total of Examination by-laws of CBSE and Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh Board and therefore, both the mark-sheets are void.”

While speaking to DU Beat, Abhi Dahiya also notes that:

“Such illegal means have fooled the students of the University who put a lot of faith in their elected candidates while voting and we are looking forward to the University administration to take appropriate measures post the complaint by NSUI.”

Image Credits: Abhi Dahiya on X

The DU Beat team was unable to reach Tushar Dedha, but he took to his Instagram on 6 July, 2024, in response to the allegations:

“NSUI cannot digest the fact that a student hailing from a village, hailing from a backward class, not only contested elections for the post of DUSU President, but also won. My admission to the UG and PG programs at the university is fair, authentic and legal. They can approach any organisation for verification, and all their allegations would prove to be baseless. On the contrary, there are many student leaders of NSUI, against whom there have been allegations and ongoing investigation of fraudulent admissions and paper leaks. The fact that NSUI has remained silent on cases of 19 paper leaks in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, goes on to show their hypocrisy.”

Besides NSUI, several student political-parties of the left-bloc have taken their stance related to the issue.SFI Kamla Nagar Joint Secretary Aditi, spoke to DU Beat, reiterating SFI’s stance on the matter:

“The fact that this fraudulent action ‘escaped’ the eyes of the DU administration that is otherwise so strict about the document verification process, to the point that it puts the futures of so many common students at risk over issues in documents, does not seem like a mere coincidence. This issue also brings into question the authenticity of the educational qualifications of other DUSU office bearers and candidates. Students do not want frauds as their leaders. The DU administration should stop supporting the fraud of ABVP-led DUSU and penalise the goons who take admission using illegal measures to contest elections”

In a consolidatory stance, AISA (All India Students Association) took to its social media pages to question the ‘DU Admin and ABVP Nexus’ and alleged that:

“While DU Admin goes ahead with implementation of NEP through fee hikes, FYUP, SEC, VAC, seat cuts, fund cuts, graded autonomy and bulldozes social justice and gender justice, it lets its stooge ‘Akhil Bharatiya Violence Parishad loose on students resisting their exclusion and marginalization.”

Tushar Dedha graduated in BA Programme from Satyawati College in 2019 and is currently pursuing his post-graduation in MA (Buddhism) from Delhi University. Adding to the uproar of student political leaders on social media, NSUI National President, Varun Choudhary shared a copy of the complaint and Tushar Dedha’s marksheet on X and alleged:

“DUSU President Tushar Dedha made a fake 12th mark sheet from UP Board and CBSE Board in 2016 and ABVP gave him a student union ticket in 2023. ABVP and SCAM party leaders are relying on fake mark sheets. The DU administration should immediately take strict action.”

While the debacle brews on, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta cited to The Indian Express that:

“The issue has reached us and we will take a look into it on Monday.”

As per recent updates, the complaint demands that the results of DUSU Presidential elections be declared null and void and Dedha be sacked from his position. However, Dedha denied any wrongdoing and said he will file a defamation case.

Featured Image Credits: Arush Gautam for DU Beat

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ABVP Demands CBI Probe Against NTA; Holds Nationwide Protests

By DU Beat June 22, 2024

Student political groups, under the aegis of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), hold nationwide protests against the irregularities in the NEET UG and UGC-NET examination organized by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The cancellation of the UGC-NET examination, in continuation of the alleged paper leak of the NEET examination in the centers of Gujarat and Bihar, has furthered the academic debacle that NTA finds itself surrounded by. The NEET UG exam, which was conducted on May 5, 2024, had its results released on June 4, 2024, which was 10 days prior to the initially programmed date. The early results were met by protests over the alleged aberration and paper leaks, as 67 people achieved a perfect score of 720, with 7-8 students from the same center. In consequence, petitions for retests were filed in the Supreme Court, wherein the body approved the retest of 1563 students within a short span of the retest being on June 23rd. This was followed by the alleged claims of a paper leak and the Supreme Court’s refusal to postpone the counseling process for the same. On June 19, 2024, the National Testing Agency canceled the UGC-NET exam for 2024 after its alleged successful conduct on June 18, 2024, followed by questions raised about the integrity of the examination.

Amidst this scholastic wreck, the opposition of the nation raised questions upon the ruling party, wherein Rahul Gandhi held a press conference addressing the debacle and stated that:

It was being said Prime Minister Modi stopped the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Gaza war, but he is either not able to stop exam leaks or doesn’t want to.”

The backlash and protests are nationwide, and even from within the Sangh Parivar, wherein its student wing, Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP), questioned the integrity and credibility of the NTA. In an interview with Indian Express, its National General Secretary, Yagyawalkya Shukla, raised opposition to the same by stating that:

There is a perception of mismanagement by NTA. How is it that question papers are reaching 15–20 minutes late in certain centers? How is it that 7-8 students from the same center get 100% marks? How did 67 students get 720 marks? There is a question mark on NTA’s credibility.”

Shukla, in regard to the government’s apparent silence and delayed responses, further added:

Aur jab praja ke taraf se sawaal hai, to sarkar ke taraf se jawab hona chahiye.“

The General Secretaries of ABVP held a meeting with, first the chief of NTA, and then the present Education Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, discussing issues pertaining to grace marks and demanding an internalized as well as CBI probe against the accusations. (Source: Harsh Attri, State Secretary, ABVP Delhi)

ABVP further organized a protest on June 10, 2024, at the NTA Office in Delhi, against the irregularities and corruption in NEET UG results and other paper leaks. The student organization demanded a CBI inquiry against the aforementioned. Different wings of the student organization from varied parts of the nation have held daily protests against NTA and its incompetency in holding NEET UG and UGC-NET, as stated by Harsh Attri, the State Secretary for ABVP Delhi. He further mentions how ABVP would continue to take steps such as the present ones if the distortion around the examinations conducted by NTA continues to take place.

Featured Image Credits: ABVP Official Instagram Page

Shikhar Pathak

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10 Days,10 Women,10 DUSU Presidents

By DU Beat April 16, 2024

On March 8, 2024, the ABVP – led DUSU (Delhi University Students Union) announced an initiative where 10 women would assume the role of DUSU President for one day each, commencing from the first day of Navratri, April 9.

Having begun on the first day of Navratri i.e. April 9, 2024, the ABVP-led Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) announced a commendable initiative where 10 women students will be chosen for the role of DUSU President for a day each.

The names of the 10 students were selected from a competition wherein the participants were asked to write an article on “The Role of Women in Making Viksit Bharat”. Tushar Dedha, DUSU President, took to his Instagram on April 5, sharing the official list of names of the 10 selected students which included Isha Awana (Department of Hindi), Akshita Johar (Ramjas College), Sophiya (Swami Shraddhanand College), Anshita Chauhan (Daulat Ram College), Deeksha Lingayath (Sri Venkateswara College), Ankita Anand (Centre for Hindu Studies), Zainab Nigar (Hansraj College), Shyama Arunbhai Trivedi (SPM College), Preeti Singh Nain (Kirori Mal College), and Sakshi Patel (Satyawati College), who served as the first DUSU President on April 9, as a part of the campaign. She is a third year B.A. Programme student hailing from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and aims to help financially weak students through her position.

Preeti Singh Nair, the second DUSU President under the campaign, spoke to DU Beat about her selection and how it aims to empower women while increasing their participation in politics to bring about a change not just at the University level but even at the national level in the future.

We have the incredible opportunity to learn about DUSU’s functioning and receive valuable insights into student politics. This campaign in itself sends an important message as it aims to empower women students to hold political offices at the national level, as it gave every selected student the space to put forth major problems in our colleges before the union. Personally, I felt incredibly happy, although surprised, to have received this opportunity out of more than 5000 students who had participated in the competition. Having witnessed the lack of inclusive and accessible spaces for PWD (persons with disabilities) students in most DU colleges, including mine, I wish to use this opportunity to bring about major changes and take a stand to make our campuses inclusive and accessible for all. – Preeti Singh Nair, the second DUSU President

In conversation with the media, Tushar Dedha, added that these one-day DUSU presidents will have all the powers of the chair to take decisions and issue any notice concerning students during their term.

On each day of the Navratri, a woman will head the DUSU as its President, exhibiting Nari Shakti. We have taken this initiative to promote women’s representation in student politics.

Featured Image Credits: Arush for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

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Campus Central

Clashes at NEHU on Holi between ABVP and Student Union

By Chaharika Uppal March 28, 2024

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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DUB News

ABVP and Left Front Clash Ahead of JNUSU 2024 Elections

By DU Beat February 15, 2024

On Friday, February 9, 2024, ABVP members and left-wing student groups, including AISA, SFI, and DSF, got into a clash during the University General Body Meeting (UGBM). Videos of the clashes show both groups engaging in sloganeering and clashing at night. Both sides have claimed that their students have been injured and targeted by the other party. Videos of the incident show ABVP members obstructing the meeting by encroaching upon the dias and getting into a confrontation with the council members. The SFI has alleged that JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh has been attacked by ABVP members with water thrown at her. ABVP JNU has also alleged that Vikas Patel, the ABVP-JNU secretary, disabled student Divyaprakash, and other supporters of ABVP have been targeted by the United Left groups.

The JNUSU stated that they had earlier on the day established the necessary quorum, but the ABVP argues that the rule for quorum of one-tenth of the university strength was defied. ABVP alleged in a comment,

Disparaging casteist slurs were made against a worker handling a mic and speaker. We had agreed to initiate the UGBM even without the mic, but it wasn’t agreeable to the communists who silence others with loud noises of dafli.

They further claimed that:

The dafli, made from hard steel, was used by the anti-Democratic left to batter JNU students in order to stop UGBM.

The incident lies ahead of the JNUSU elections, which will take place after four years in the month of March. Currently, the office-bearers elected in 2019 are holding the office as agreed upon in an earlier UGBM held in September 2023. Anagha Pradeep, a JNU Councillor, has called out the administration and ABVP for together supporting the agenda that the JNUSU is illegal since, according to them, it is not a recognised body. The JNU administration had halted the elections in lieu of the pandemic and stated that they would follow the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and must wait for PhD admissions to be completed. Representatives of all fronts had staged protests demanding a free and fair election for the Student Union at the earliest. The students had pointed out that if elections in other universities like DU have been running in parallel, then perhaps the administration is purposely dodging the election question. The JNUSU and the administration have been at loggerheads with each other since last year. Aishe Ghosh commented,

Recently, in interviews given to several media outlets, the JNU vice chancellor claimed that JNUSU elections cannot be held until the entire admission process, including that of Ph.D. admissions, has not been completed. These are patent lies and tactics at dilly-dallying, as the same vice chancellor and administration refused to hold elections in April 2023 even after the completion of the entire admission process.

She also added,

It is a deliberate strategy of the JNU Administration to curb the growth of the students’ social and political consciousness, which leads to the growth of the students as critical citizens capable of asking tough questions to those in power. The RSS-controlled administration, hell-bent on turning the campus into the breeding ground of the saffronization of education, is perennially afraid of students who are aware of and capable of seeing through their agenda.

On Febrary 10th, the ABVP staged a march owing to the incident and demanded “free and fair elections.” In response, the Left Front has also formed a human chain “of solidarity and resilience against the ABVP.” Aishe Ghosh has also raised the slogan, “Reject hooliganism!”

Featured Image Source: Shiksha

Sarah Nautiyal
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Campus Central

Saffronisation Out in the Open, Finally!

By DU Beat February 1, 2024

With an overwhelming abundance of saffron flags and Jai Shree Ram chants across the North Campus of Delhi University, students have their opinions divided over the future of sanctity of educational spaces.

22nd of January, 2024 saw the North Campus of Delhi University wrapped in saffron. Saffron flags, streamers, sashes, ‘tilaks’ adorned every corner of the campus. Imprinted on them were the signs of ABVP, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student-wing of RSS, along with images of Lord Ram and slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’. Diyas spelled out as ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and a giant poster of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ marked the entrance to the Arts Faculty of Delhi University. Bhajan Mandali, LED-screens live screening the Ayodhya ceremony, community kitchens as well as a miniature structure of the Ram Mandir was established within the campus to emulate the celebrations at Ayodhya.

The Pran Pratistha Ceremony at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Ayodhya was a truly historic moment, one that generations have waited for. We have been fortunate to witness it live with our eyes. The students of Delhi University, like the rest of the nation, were beyond themselves with joy on this occasion. The constant slogans of Jai Shree Ram during the screening held at North Campus, the hawans in various colleges, all tell us how emotional the student fraternity was about the event. Lakhs of diyas were lit across the North and South Campus, and the off-campus colleges, and the turnout for the same was completely spontaneous, especially that for more than 2.5 lakh diyas being lit at the North Campus, Chhatra Marg and the law faculty with students turning up in large numbers for them.

-Ashish Singh, State Executive Member of ABVP.

While the celebrations continued, the student community within Delhi University is divided on the connotations behind this saffron wave. Contrarily, the Faculty of Law saw the Tiranga wave on 23rd January.

“The students of the Faculty of Law conducted an event emphasising the ideas in our Preamble as well as the Indian Constitution. The event was in contrast to the politicisation of the Ram Mandir celebration by ABVP with communal slogans of ‘Kaashi Mathura Abhi Baaki Hai’ and writing ‘Hindu Rashtra’ with diyas. Like our nation, our campus is also a diverse space with students from different backgrounds enriching it and the Law Faculty event highlighted that the flag of no other ‘sangathan’ is above our Tiranga at the end of the day.”

-Hitesh Kumar, state executive member of SFI.

The three-day event conducted at the Faculty of Law since the 23rd of January saw preamble readings, marches, speeches by advocates emphasising the ideals engrained within the Preamble of the Constitution.

However, as ABVP flags overwhelmed both the campuses of Delhi University on the 22nd of January, the absence of alternate student parties’ inclusion in the celebration was alarming. Like the nation, the lack of opposition at a national event like the Ayodhya celebration led to a political showdown of saffron and ‘Jai Shree Ram’. In response to claims why the Faculty of Law event was not conducted on 22nd itself, a member of SFI says that:

We did not want to interrupt the ABVP event as the sentiments of general students would have been hurt. Anything beyond the Pran Pratistha event would have been marked as an act against a particular religion, which we are not. The Faculty of Law event was not a reactionary one. It’s the need of the time that we should remember and embrace the secular, democratic, socialist ideas enshrined in our constitution.

“We have all witnessed the saffronisation of buildings, universities and streets just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and we have taken up a nationwide campaign, ‘Modi Sarkar Ke Dus Saal’ to gauge the real issues concerning the nation like unemployment and we conducted preamble readings across DU campuses at a prime time when the constitution of India is under blatant attack and the campus is being communalized.”

-Anjali, AISA DU Secretary.

While several perspectives crop up with respect to the University embracing ‘religious symbols’ on the 22nd of January, several questions remain to be answered by the student fraternity. Should university grounds be open to embracing religious connotations? Has religion become a politicised tool in the campus and the country today? Where do we draw the line between religion and culture today?

Public-funded educational spaces must not have such blatant display of religious ceremonies. If you take a walk around Arts Faculty, Ram Mandir and bhagwa flags take over the Indian flag and this can occur only if the administration is involved along with DUSU, which is dominated by ABVP. We have requested the Dean of Arts Faculty to take down the saffron flags at our campus to let our campus be a secular space.

-Aditi, SFI DU Convenor.

With the introduction of the National Educational Policy, subtle saffronisation of public education had taken it’s roots with Hindu Studies being introduced as a major, removal of Islamic thinkers from undergraduate syllabus as well as introducing subjects like Fit India, Horoscope Reading as skill-enhancement courses. However, the Pran Pratistha Ceremony of 22nd of January, let loose the gradually boiling saffronisation and unveiled it in the open.

Cultural ceremonies pertaining to the feats of Lord Ram, Bhajan Mandalis concerning Lord Ram and slogans of ‘Ram Mandir se Ram Rajya Tak’ were heard across North Campus with hundreds of devotees gathered round. While streaks of saffron crawled through our education space previously, 22nd of January marked a saffron-tsunami for DU. And the most alarming part lay in the lack of alternative voices within the campus. This brings along another important question, is our campus still a safe-space to provide alternate views? Or will only the way of the saffron community exist from now on?

While the Hindutva debate rages on, right-wing parties often claim the salience of being a Hindu as a geographical identity, much beyond the boundaries of religion and culture. Hindutva is seen as a force of unity, a reason of national pride.

Opposing the claims of ‘communalism’ propagated by ‘Hindu Rashtra’ written using Diyas within North Campus, a state-executive member of ABVP notes that:

In our understanding, Hindu Rashtra is not a symbol of communalism, it is a geographical concept. Even if this particular word was written, there is nothing wrong in it. It is the origin of various names our country is known by like India and Hindustan.

Another perspective that must be noted in the Ram Mandir celebration was the mass number of students who turned up. Colleges across DU noticed tides of students turning up to embrace the celebration, in various ethnic attires and saffron sashes, which depicts where the sentiments of the student fraternity are mostly inclined today.

While debates rage on if the Ayodhya celebration was used as a mass-politicised tool, the association of Ram Janmabhoomi with saffron-right wing flags rather than national flags paints an all together different picture. Ram Mandir celebrations have been localized only for right-believers, as the ABVP symbol conjugated with ‘Jai Shree Ram’ flags suggests. To what extent must religion go hand in hand with politics? To what extent must religion be allowed to enter secular educational spaces?

While controversies and discussions run around in this heated political climate, we need to gauge some important answers, is the Ram Mandir celebration a symbol of United India or of Hindutva Dominance? While the national as well as campus community remains divided upon the answer, Naya Bharat aka Naya DU is rapidly reshaping itself as per majority sentiments!

Featured Image Credits: Ankita Baidya For DU Beat

Priyanka Mukherjee

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