M.K. Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, strongly objected to the defacing of Periyar and Karl Marx portraits at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi and denounced the “cowardly assault on Tamil students by ABVP [Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad]”. He demanded that the university management take strict action against violent offenders. Tamil Nadu has been affected by the event.
Stalin made his remark the day after one of the students who was physically attacked by the ABVP on Sunday, February 19, was Nasser Mohammed Moideen, a research scholar from Tamil Nadu at the department of molecular medicine. Naseer was taken to a hospital right away after suffering blood wounds to his head and neck.
The students claim that when they attempted to conduct a gathering in honour of Darshan Solanki, an 18-year-old Dalit student who recently committed suicide at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), they were attacked by the ABVP. The IIT pupils are said to have committed suicide as a result of caste prejudice.
“The ABVP members had congregated for the Sivaji event and had written on walls that communists should be hanged, as well as Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. The writings were covered up by the pupils. Ilaiya Kumar, a research scholar from Tamil Nadu at Jamia Milia University, said that when the Jaane Bhi Yaaro screening was about to start, the ABVP members allegedly returned and heckled the students, accusing them of removing the portrait of Sivaji.
The tallest leader among Dravidians, Periyar, has allegedly been the target of a systematic effort by the ABVP for several months. On September 17, Periyar’s birth date, a few of us, including JNU students, floated the “Reservation Club” last year. Since then, the Club has hosted a number of activities, including discussions on reservation rights, opposition to EWS reservations, etc. Since then, the ABVP has launched a counter-campaign against Periyar,” Ilaiya Kumar continued.
The victim of the attack, Nasser, stated, “When I got there, I saw portraits of Periyar, Marx, and Lenin had been vandalised. The ABVP members claimed they were responsible when I questioned them and they then began to assault me.
The students also claimed that ABVP members attempted to attack other students and obstructed the ambulance that was dispatched to take Nasser to the hospital.
The assault took place right in front of Delhi Police. They refused to step in when we urged them to, according to JNUSU convenor Adarsh (SLL&CS). “They claimed they had no such instructions. The ABVP is now advancing a fresh claim that we have degraded Sivaji’s image. What would make us do that? This is being said by the ABVP to protect themselves.
Leaders in Tamil Nadu responded to the event. Chief Minister Stalin denounced the assault on Tamil students at JNU in a number of tweets.
The Delhi Police and JNU security forces, he continued, “have time and time again become mute witnesses to the violence unleashed on students who struggle for their rights and oppose the Union BJP regime.”
Stalin pleaded with the JNU vice chancellor, expressing his support for the students, to take action against the offenders and defend Tamil Nadu students.
M.H. Jawahirulla, MLA and head of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, drew attention to the fact that JNU students associated with communist movements have been repeatedly targeted and claimed it was clear that those responsible for these crimes go unpunished and thus continue to commit violent acts on campus.
Nevertheless, this is wholly intolerable. The vice-chancellor needs to punish the offenders,” he said.
“Regressive forces like the BJP consider doing divisive politics on educational campuses an accomplishment, and that this anti-people action should be condemned,” said Thol Thirumavalavan, MP and leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. He insisted that the ABVP members who had engaged in violence and damaged the portraits of Marx and Periyar be charged with crimes.
It was “deeply saddening to see a state CM falling for the fake narratives of his Party’s IT wing without delving into the depth of the issue,” according to K. Annamalai, president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. He asserted that victims of the attack came from both parties.
On the JNU campus, there have been several incidents of ABVP members using violence. Six students were hurt in February 2022 as a result of right-wing protests and acts of violence against campus non-vegetarian food provided on Ram Navami. In January 2020, JNUSU-affiliated students were attacked in Sabarmati Hostel, Mahi Mandvi Hostel, and Periyar Hostel by hooded individuals brandishing sticks and rods. Numerous students sustained severe wounds. The assault, according to JNUSU, was planned by ABVP.
