On April 5, Dawat-e-Iftar was organised on the campus of Presidency University in Kolkata, West Bengal to ‘uphold the spirit of plurality.’ As many as 750 people took part in the congregation held on Wednesday evening. According to reports, the iftar was organised by some boarders of hostels in the university for Muslim students.
Some students staying at the Eden Hindu Hostel of the Presidency University reportedly hosted the Iftar on the ground in the Hostel compound. Reportedly, the event was not restricted to only the Muslim borders of the hostel, rather students of Presidency University, Jadavpur University and Calcutta University also joined the Iftar feast, taking the total number of students congregated to almost 750.
The event was supposedly organised to ‘spread the message of communal harmony and show that the Presidency upholds the spirit of plurality,’ said Hindu students like Arpan Maji, Rajarshi Barman and Gobinda Barman who had hosted the event.
After the Iftar party was held at the university hostel, several people on social media pointed out how the same varsity had recently denied permission for the celebration of Saraswati Puja for allegedly ‘maintaining secularism’ on the campus. West Bengal BJP leader Keya Ghosh claimed that while the university allowed the iftar party, the same university didn’t allow Saraswati Puja in January this year.
Dawat-e-iftar in Presidency College’s Eden Hindu hostel.
— Keya Ghosh (@keyakahe) April 5, 2023
Plz remember, Presidency University did not allow Saraswati Puja within the compound citing it goes against “secular” nature of the institution. pic.twitter.com/5Q7LBSU9X3
However, while it is true that Saraswati Puja has never been celebrated on the university campus, it does not mean the university has allowed an Iftar party inside the campus. The university has been denying all religious events including Saraswati Puja on campus for a long time.
In January this year, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, the student unit of TMC, submitted an application to the Dean of Students seeking permission to perform Saraswati Puja on the premises of Presidency University.
They stated in the letter that they intend to celebrate Saraswati Puja on the university premises this year. They requested authorization to use the institution’s facilities from January 25 to 27. However, the authorities refused to grant the permission. According to reports, the institution endorses DeRozio’s approach of ‘maintaining secularism’ on campus by forbidding worship.
Dissatisfied with the authorities’ refusal to provide permission, members of the TMC student wing staged a protest. After the Saraswati idol was denied entry to the institution, the students insisted on doing a Puja at the university’s main gate as a protest. As a result, a makeshift mandap was constructed on the footpath outside the Presidency University’s main gate, and the Puja was held there.
Therefore, it is true that Saraswati Puja is not allowed inside the university, but the story is different for hostels. In fact, the Eden Hindu Hostel, which organised the Iftar Party, had organised Saraswati Puja also this year. The hostel’s unofficial Facebook page has several photographs of the puja held in January 2023.
After the hostel was questioned for organising the Islamic event, several users posted on the Facebook Page saying that while the university does not allow religious events, the hostel has its own separate culture, and just like it organised iftar, it had also organised Saraswati Puja.
Hence, the fact is that it is the Hindu hostel that organised the Iftar party, and Saraswati Puja was also held earlier in the same hostel. There is no report of any Iftar party held inside the University’s main academic campus. However, it is not clear whether the hostel boarders need to take permission to hold such events in the hostel compound.
On the other hand, the students had requested to organise the puja at the Portic area of the university, which was not granted.
OpIndia talked to Presidency University for their comments on the iftar party, but the university official who received the call said that they are not authorised to say anything on the matter. The person also told us that nobody else will talk about it so we should not call them again.
Hindus celebrating Ram Navami stopped from entering Presidency University in Bengaluru
Notably, only a week ago, violence had erupted in the Bengaluru campus of Presidency University after Hindu students were denied permission to celebrate Ram Navami. According to local reports, on the occasion of Ram Navami on March 30, some devotees had gone to the Presidency University near Dibbur in Lahanka Taluk of Bangalore wearing saffron shawls in the afternoon to distribute Prasad. Some leftist students at the Presidency University stopped the devotees from entering the university, leading to the devotees staging a protest at the campus gate.
As the uproar increased, members of several Hindu organizations gathered and started protesting in front of the university. Later, Rajanukunte police reached the spot and the Hindu students were made to leave the spot.
West Bengal burns during Ram Navami celebrations while the administration looks away
On Thursday (March 30), stones were pelted on a Ram Navami procession from the terraces of the buildings in the Shibpur area of Howrah. This led to a clash between the Hindu and Muslim groups, leading to violence and arson. Vehicles and shops were also torched during the attack. Several disturbing videos of the incident went viral on social media.
Three days after Islamists unleashed mayhem during the Ram Navami procession in the Shibpur area of Howrah in West Bengal, on Sunday, April 2, a fresh bout of violence erupted in Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
The incident occurred when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taking out a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in the area. Miscreants pelted stones at the procession, leaving several people, including one of BJP’s local legislators, gravely injured. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed and the internet was suspended.
While West Bengal continued to burn, the ruling dispensation led by CM Mamata Banerjee was busy whitewashing Islamist atrocities in the state by first invoking their faith and second, blaming the violence on ‘outsiders.’ She insisted that Hindus should not venture into “Muslim areas” to carry out processions.
