Hindu students at Kaveri Hostel had spoken of conducting Ram Navami Puja and Havan on the last day of Navratri. The time of the havan was at 3.30 pm. At the same time, Muslim students had called an Iftar party in the hostel itself to break the fast, which was to be held after 5 pm.
A fierce fight broke out between students belonging to the Left and the ABVP at the Cauvery Hostel on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Sunday. A dispute started in Kaveri Hostel around 5 pm over non-veg food, which later escalated to a fight. More than ten students got hurt in the incident. Both the student organizations are blaming each other. On the other hand, the university administration has ordered senior officers to prepare an investigation report in this matter. JNU students have reached Vasant Kunj North police station in protest against the violence and are demanding action by raising slogans there.
ABVP’s JNU unit president Rohit Kumar said, “Left and NSUI activists started a ruckus during the Ram Navami puja in the university. There is no issue of non-vegetarian food. The problem is with the program on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Former JNUSU president N Sai Balaji said, “We immediately reached the spot and told the dean and warden that such things should not happen. Everyone should have the right to eat what they want. Vegetarianism is always available here… By around 7.30-7.45 in the evening we came to know that some goons of ABVP are beating some JNU students. We saw ABVP members pelting stones from outside the gate of Kaveri Hostel, attacking with tubelights, sticks and stones. He abused women. We have no problem with anyone’s prayer. The SHO was standing there and he did nothing.
Sarika, a former vice-president of JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) and PhD student, said ABVP has come down on the violence in JNU as their efforts to ban non-vegetarian food on the campus have been opposed by other students. 50-60 people have been injured.
Manoj C, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-West, said, “The situation is calm at present and both the student teams are demonstrating peacefully. Appropriate legal action will be taken on receipt of the complaint.
ram navami puja and iftar party going on together
Hindu students at Kaveri Hostel (boys’ hostel) called for Ramnavami puja and havan on the last day of Navratri. The time of the havan was at 3.30 pm. At the same time, Muslim students had given a call for an Iftar party to break the fast in the hostel itself, which was to be organized after 5 pm. The Kaveri Hostel Committee and the students had mutually agreed to organize Hindu-Muslim events together. At the time of worship of Ramnavami, outside students i.e. students of other hostels also came to the hostel.
Meanwhile, after about four and a half hours, the worship of Ram Navami started. The worship was going on when on the other hand the preparations for the Iftar party started. Non-veg was also kept for this Iftar party. Hindu students objected to keeping this non-veg. He said that since Ramnavami puja is going on and it is the last day of Navratri, non-veg should not be included in the menu of hostel mess. Students of both the sides of Kaveri Hostel were talking about removing non-veg, suddenly stone pelting started. In this, the students of other hostels of JNU and Kaveri Hostel got entangled with each other and the dispute reached till the fight.
The day the poster of Ram Navami Puja was put up in the campus, the protest started on the same day. Students of Left student organizations had threatened not to complete the puja. Kaveri Hostel is a boys hostel where girls are not allowed inside. Even after this, only the maximum number of girls from other hostels reached and tried to stop the worship. For this reason, the worship could start between 4.30 and 5.30 pm instead of 3.30 pm. The students of Kaveri Hostel had agreed to the puja and iftar party together. At that time it was decided that non-veg would not be included in the food. In such a situation, it was wrong to bring non-veg in the Iftar party at the time of worship.
It was a mutual matter between the students of Kaveri Hostel, which would have been resolved but suddenly there was stone pelting. This stone pelting was started by the girls of other hostels even though they were not called. ABVP students have suffered head, arm, leg injuries. Whereas even the clothes of disabled students were torn. Left student organizations are now trying to divert the threat of stopping worship by making non-veg an issue.
Adarsh Jha, student and media coordinator, ABVP JNU unit.
JNU is a central university. Where the student will eat here, he will decide for himself. How can ABVP stop a student from eating non-veg? Due to Sunday, non-veg was being made in Kaveri Hostel Mess. The students are given a choice of chicken and paneer. In such a situation, ABVP workers went to the mess and stopped making non-veg first. It is absolutely wrong to bring non-veg in worship.
ABVP is deliberately forcing the students to eat food according to the rules made by them. Now the students who fast, what they will eat is their own decision, but it is wrong for them to stop other students to eat. When the students protested on this matter, they started fighting. All boys and girls can attend iftar party. So there was no problem with girls coming there. There should be an inquiry into this whole matter as to why the restrictions are being imposed in the food. -N Sai Balaji, Former President JNU Students’ Union, National President, AISA.
Expansion
A fierce fight broke out between students belonging to the Left and the ABVP at the Cauvery Hostel on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Sunday. A dispute started in Kaveri Hostel around 5 pm over non-veg food, which later escalated to a fight. More than ten students got hurt in the incident. Both the student organizations are blaming each other. On the other hand, the university administration has ordered senior officers to prepare an investigation report in this matter. JNU students have reached Vasant Kunj North police station in protest against the violence and are demanding action by raising slogans there.
ABVP’s JNU unit president Rohit Kumar said, “Left and NSUI activists started a ruckus during the Ram Navami puja in the university. There is no issue of non-vegetarian food. The problem is with the program on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Former JNUSU president N Sai Balaji said, “We immediately reached the spot and told the dean and warden that such things should not happen. Everyone should have the right to eat what they want. Vegetarianism is always available here… By around 7.30-7.45 in the evening we came to know that some goons of ABVP are beating some JNU students. We saw ABVP members pelting stones from outside the gate of Kaveri Hostel, attacking with tubelights, sticks and stones. He abused women. We have no problem with anyone’s prayer. The SHO was standing there and he did nothing.
Sarika, a former vice-president of JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) and PhD student, said that ABVP has come down on the violence in JNU as their efforts to ban non-vegetarian food on the campus have been opposed by other students. 50-60 people have been injured.
Manoj C, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-West, said, “The situation is calm at present and both the student teams are demonstrating peacefully. Appropriate legal action will be taken on receipt of the complaint.
ram navami puja and iftar party going on together
Hindu students at Kaveri Hostel (boys’ hostel) called for Ramnavami puja and havan on the last day of Navratri. The time of the havan was at 3.30 pm. At the same time, Muslim students had given a call for an Iftar party to break the fast in the hostel itself, which was to be organized after 5 pm. The Kaveri Hostel Committee and the students had mutually agreed to organize Hindu-Muslim events together. At the time of worship of Ramnavami, outside students i.e. students of other hostels also came to the hostel.
Meanwhile, after about four and a half hours, the worship of Ram Navami started. The worship was going on when on the other hand the preparations for the Iftar party started. Non-veg was also kept for this Iftar party. Hindu students objected to keeping this non-veg. He said that since Ramnavami puja is going on and it is the last day of Navratri, non-veg should not be included in the menu of hostel mess. Students of both the sides of Kaveri Hostel were talking about removing non-veg, suddenly stone pelting started. In this, the students of other hostels of JNU and Kaveri Hostel got entangled with each other and the dispute reached till the fight.