Scuffle breaks out at Jamia Millia Islamia amid Diwali celebrations 

Scuffle erupts at Jamia Millia Islamia during Diwali celebrations, with conflicting reports from ABVP and SFI.

A scuffle broke out in Jamia Millia Islamia on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) amid Diwali celebrations. Purported videos showed students screaming slogans such as ‘Jai Shree Ram’, and Naara-e-Takbir.

The university administration did not respond to queries about the incident. Meanwhile, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had different versions of the events.

ABVP issued a statement condemning the violence by “sectarian fanatics and anti-social elements”. Abhishek Shrivastava, President, ABVP, Jamia Millia Islamia said that the Deepotsav event was held peacefully, and students were chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in jubilation.

“Meanwhile, at around 8 p.m., outside sectarian fanatics and anti-social elements at the venue of the program in Jamia broke the lamps of Deepotsav, erased the rangoli and vandalized it and started beating the Jamia students participating in the Deepotsav,” he said.

On the other hand, SFI said, “In the guise of celebrating the festival Diwali, Rashtriya Kala Manch, an ABVP affiliated organisation, invited ABVP goons from outside to disrupt the campus peace by creating a communal atmosphere on the campus premise.” According to their version, the outsiders were violent with students and shouted slogans in front of women students, while misbehaving with them.

According to university sources, the clashes took place after 7 p.m., after the students exceeded the time allotted to them, and the slogans were raised by both Hindu and Muslim students. Students had been given permissions to celebrate Diwali from 4-6 p.m.. A proctorial team and the police were deployed, and the situation was brought under control eventually.