Objectionable slogans on Kashmir and Sharjeel Imam on the walls of Delhi's Jamia Milia Islamia sparked a controversy with the BJP questioning what a Congress leader was doing at the university. This came even as students clashed with guards and classes were shifted online.
Students of Jamia Millia Islamia have been protesting demanding a return of students' union and elections of the university. (PTI)
Slogans demanding "Free Kashmir" and the release of jailed activist Sharjeel Imam, written on the walls of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, triggered a political row on Saturday, with the BJP questioning the presence of Congress MP Imran Masood at the student protest and the university administration condemning the graffiti as an attack on the institution's dignity and the country's sovereignty. This came on a day when guards tried to remove students from the protest site on the campus, with the latter clashing with security personnel.
The controversy erupted as Jamia's campus remained tense over a hunger strike by students demanding the restoration of student union elections, which have not been held since 2006. The appearance of the slogans has brought the university's prolonged agitation into the national political spotlight, with the BJP demanding that the Congress clarify its position on Kashmir and Sharjeel Imam, while Congress MP Imran Masood defended his visit to the campus, saying he had gone to support the demands of the students.
On Saturday, the university's teaching and non-teaching staff, along with Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi, condemned the defacement of campus walls and attacks on security personnel of the institution.
The Jamia administration also announced that classes across all courses would shift to online mode with immediate effect, citing the prevailing situation and the need to ensure the safety of students. Heavy police deployment was also reported outside the campus as tensions continued.
Though the protest was over students' union elections, controversial slogans on the walls of Jamia sparked a political row on Saturday.
WHY ARE STUDENTS OF JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA PROTESTING?
The immediate issue behind the agitation is the demand for the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU), which was dissolved in 2006 following campus violence. Students began an indefinite hunger strike on October 12, demanding the return of elected student representation and an end to what they called a prolonged denial of their democratic rights on campus.
The university has maintained that the question of student representation must be addressed in accordance with the Jamia Act, applicable ordinances and statutes, court orders, and the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, which laid down guidelines for student union elections in 2007.
In a development earlier this week, Jamia constituted a five-member committee. It has been tasked with examining the circumstances that led to the union's dissolution in 2006, relevant court rulings and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. It has also been asked to consult stakeholders, including students, and submit a draft by December 20.
The move followed the formation of a seven-member high-level committee on October 18 to engage with the protesters and examine their demands. According to the university administration, the panel held discussions with student representatives on October 19 and 20, but the students did not agree to sign the minutes of the meetings.
The protesters have been occupying the Ghalib statue lawns since October 12, although the administration has designated Gate No 18 as the authorised site for demonstrations. The university has appealed to students to exercise their right to dissent peacefully and has raised concerns about alleged damage to the statue, campus gates, walls and other infrastructure during the agitation.
While the administration has taken steps towards drafting a constitution for the students' union, the protests have continued, setting the stage for a confrontation between students and university authorities. The "Free Kashmir" graffiti has now added a politically sensitive dimension to a dispute that began with demands for student elections.
DOES CONGRESS SUPPORT 'FREE KASHMIR' AND 'SHARJEEL IMAM' SLOGANS, ASKS BJP
The graffiti triggered a sharp political attack from the BJP, which questioned why Imran Masood, Congress MP and Uttar Pradesh's working president of the party, was present at the university. The BJP demanded that the opposition party must clarify whether it endorsed the "Free Kashmir" slogans.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad targeted the Congress over the presence of Imran Masood, the party's Uttar Pradesh working president and a Lok Sabha MP, at the protesting students’ site.
"At Jamia Millia, the Congress's state working president and MP were also present. What were they doing there?" Prasad asked.
He claimed that slogans reading "Free Kashmir" and "Release Sharjeel Imam" covered the university's boundary walls and questioned whether the Congress supported the demand to separate Kashmir from India.
"The BJP wants to ask the Congress: Imran Masood is not just your MP, he is the working [state] president of the Congress party. Does the Congress party endorse the demand, boldly written at Jamia Millia Islamia, to separate Kashmir from India? What is the Congress party's stand on Sharjeel Imam?" Prasad said.
IMRAN MASSOD CLARIFIES JAMIA VISIT, SAYS HE OPPOSES 'FREE KASHMIR' DEMAND
Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Imran Masood defended his visit to Jamia, saying the university administration needed to address the concerns of students who had been on hunger strike for 12 days.
"The situation at Jamia is a very serious matter. I visited the campus yesterday. Students have been on a hunger strike for 12 days. The university administration should listen to them; their expulsion must be revoked, and their demands addressed," he said.
Masood also rejected the suggestion that his visit amounted to an endorsement of the slogans. He said no slogans had been raised during his visit and that the words had "merely" been written on the walls.
"I explicitly stated there that Kashmir is an integral part of India, and all the students present supported this," he said.
SHARJEEL IMAM, JAMIA MILIA AND ANTI-CAA PROTESTS
Sharjeel Imam, a former JNU research scholar, was reportedly one of the key organisers of the anti-CAA protests of 2019-20 in Delhi. He was arrested in January 2020 over speeches in which he called for cutting off Assam and the Northeast from the rest of India by blocking key transport routes near the Siliguri Corridor.
Sharjeel was later accused of involvement in a larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots, in which 53 people were killed.
Jamia Milia Islamia was one of the key spots of anti-CAA protests in Delhi, with students clashing with police.
The graffiti comes with the prolonged incarceration of Sharjeel Imam coming into renewed focus after an interview of his was published in September in the news portal The Quint and a subsequent counter to it in The Print.
Sharjeel remains in jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) with charges in the riots conspiracy case yet to be framed more than six years after his arrest.
JAMIA CONDEMNS OBJECTIONABLE GRAFFITI, TO REPAINT WALL
As the controversy snowballed and took on a political colour with the BJP, the Congress and the AIMIM jumping in, Jamia Milia Islamia issued a statement condemning the objectionable slogans on campus walls.
The university expressed "dismay over incidents of vandalism and the defacement of campus walls with highly objectionable slogans".
Jamia said that faculty and staff resolved to repaint the defaced walls and cover the slogans. They described the slogans as "highly condemnable and detrimental to the nation's integrity, security and sovereignty".
The appearance of the graffiti has complicated the negotiations in the university, giving the administration grounds to condemn the conduct on campus and providing the BJP an opportunity to challenge the Congress over its engagement with the protesters.
Imran Masood, meanwhile, has maintained that he visited to support the demands of the students and explicitly said that the "Free Kashmir" slogan was not announced, but "merely" written on the walls, while saying that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
The university has moved classes online, but the clashes on campus and the controversial slogans have led to a controversy with political parties now getting into it. The protesting students have dug in their heels, and said they woon't relent until all their demands were met.
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(Written by Avinash Kateel)