Going by most accounts emerging from students at the Ramjas College, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad took recourse to violence while protesting against Umar Khalid’s presence at a seminar on February 21. Stones were pelted and students and professors were attacked. The next day, a riot-like situation gripped North Campus as students affiliated to the Left parties took out a protest march. Many students and journalists alleged that ABVP took to violence again.
While this may seem like a battle between the Left and Right, some students we spoke to at the Delhi Police Headquarters yesterday said the issues wasn’t ideology as much as police inaction. They maintained that neither did the police provide ample protection to students who were under attack on February 21 and 22, nor did they file an FIR against the attackers. These students were a mix of those who are aligned with Left parties -- including Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya -- and those who considered themselves neutral. The protest wasn't just restricted to colleges that have the Delhi University Students Union -- even students from colleges like Stephen's and Ladies Shri Ram College were present.
Camera & Report By: Amit Bhardwaj & Ishan Kukreti
