New Delhi: The Jamia Millia Islamia University campus was full of vibrance with colourful rangolis and diyas lit to celebrate Diwali on Tuesday, ahead of holiday break. The event, organised by Yuva JMI and Rashtriya Kala Manch, was titled ‘Jyotirgamaya 2024’. It was a cultural function which featured music, a rangoli contest, and the illumination of diyas.
However, suddenly the atmosphere changed as some students started raising slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘Long live Palestine’. In response, the other group chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The serenity was shattered. The sloganeering became louder as the division between two group of students became apparent. Security has been stepped up on the campus to prevent any untoward incident.
What exactly happened
Inside Gate Number 7 of Jamia University, some ABVP students were celebrating Jyotirgamaya — a Diwali celebration — by lighting diyas around 7:30 pm on Tuesday. A person reportedly from another community accidentally stepped on a diya, which led to a verbal altercation, and people from both sides gathered, resulting in pushing and shoving. Slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ were shouted from both sides. The commotion lasted for a short while. Currently, no complaints have been filed with the police, and the situation is under control on the university campus.
Protests against such events at Jamia Millia Islamia are not new. Back in March 2023, a group of students reportedly disrupted the Holi celebrations on the campus. Titled ‘Rangotsav’, the event was organised by the university’s YUVA chapter. However, as some students raised objection to it, tensions mounted.
‘Pro-Palestine’ slogans raised last October
In October last year, Jamia Millia Islamia University reverberated with slogans like ‘Humanity cannot afford more wars’, ‘Freedom for Palestine’, ‘Stop attacks on civilians’. The security personnel prevented the protests and sloganeering on the campus.
Videos of security men removing Palestine flags tied to students’ shirts and on campus walls circulated widely on social media. Students were spotted wearing badges that read, “Free Palestine”.
