ABVP activists run riot in DU over Ramayana essay | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

ABVP activists run riot in DU over Ramayana essay

Hindustan Times | ByAnuradha Mukherjee, New Delhi
Feb 26, 2008 02:53 AM IST

The ABVP and other right wing groups claims the essay is derogatory towards Hindu god and goddesses, reports Anuradha Mukherjee.

The Ramayana controversy in Delhi University took a violent turn on Monday when Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists indulged in acts on vandalism in the history department. Students of the history department have now started an SMS campaign against the assault and are planning to hold a protest meet in the university on Tuesday.

HT Image
HT Image

“We went to submit a memorandum with the history department head, but we felt he took our objection lightly and was rude with us. Some students got angry and there was some disruptive action after that,” said Vikas Dahiya, ABVP activist and former DUSU vice-president.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The ABVP activists had earlier gathered in the Arts Faculty to protest against the inclusion of an essay by AK Ramanujan on different folk traditions related to the Ramayana tale in the recommended reading for second year BA Honours students. The ABVP and other right wing groups claimed the essay is derogatory towards Hindu god and goddesses. The history department had convened a meeting of all its members on February 4 and had decided no such insult was made in the essay.

The activists were supposed to head for the vice-chancellor’s office, but suddenly decided to visit the history department where they roughed up department head SZH Jafri. “About 10 people barged into my room and grabbed me by my collar and pushed me around,” said Jafri. Soon after there was a spontaneous protest from the student body that gathered in the Arts Faculty and raised slogans against ABVP.

“The ABVP activists went breaking windowpanes from class to class. They disrupted an MA previous internal assessment test. We have started an SMS campaign against the assault on the academic environment,” said Maya John, an MA Final student of History.

Jafri said the department had taken the allegations seriously and had reviewed the contents of the essay immediately and had already submitted the report with the university. “We are being accused of having made fun of Hindu gods and goddesses — something we feel we have not done,” said Jafri.

The book, more like a collection of essays, is compiled by Upinder Singh of the history department, also Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s daughter. The contentious essay is Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation by AK Ramanujan. Some quarters in DU claimed this was merely an attempt to politicise a non-issue.

The teaching community also expressed its solidarity with the history department head. “The said text is being taught for four years and was passed by the academic and executive councils. The NDTF, which, like ABVP, is affiliated to the BJP, is part of both the bodies. Why did they not protest earlier?” asked Ratan Lal, a faculty member at Hindu College.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On