Fifteen months after the walls of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus were defaced with anti-Brahmin and anti-Baniya slogans, the varsity has conceded that it is still clueless about the identity of the culprits.
The revelation was made by JNU on Wednesday (6th March) in its reply to an RTI query filed by activist Vivek Pandey. He had sought information about the action taken against the miscreants involved in the incident.
“Brahmins Leave The Campus, There Will Be Blood. Brahmin Bharat Chhodo and Brahmino Baniyas, we are coming for you. We will avenge etc were written on the walls inside JNU”, the RTI query pointed out.
🚨 Disappointed to see that despite anti-#Brahmin & #Baniya communities slogans threatening violence at JNU, no action has been taken
— Dr Vivek Pandey (@Vivekpandey21) March 8, 2024
👉 My #RTI query reveals no investigation or punishment for culprits#JNU accountability is crucial to maintain safety and inclusivity on campus pic.twitter.com/7m1UcIvz31
“…The university authorities issued a statement condemning the incident and blaming unknown elements behind the defacement of the campus. An inquiry into the incident has been ordered,” it added.
Vivek Pandey mentioned three questions in his RTI query. They are as follows:
- Please provide the details of action taken against these people who raised anti-Brahmin slogans inside JNU campus.
- Please provide the details of the final status report of inquiry done by JNU on this issue
- Please provide the details of identified person who raised these slogans inside JNU campus and punishment given them to by JNU
Response of Jawaharlal Nehru University
The varsity responded to the RTI queries partly, first on 15th February and then on 6th March.
In its reply dated 15th February, JNU acknowledged, “None of the information sought by the applicant is available with the Security Department of JNU.“
Later on Wednesday (6th March), the university informed that the security personnel have failed to ascertain the identity of those involved in anti-Brahmin, anti-Baniya graffiti incident of December 2022.
“The incident involved writing inappropriate slogans on walls of School of International Studies. However, as per depositions received, security guards were not able to identify any one,” conceded the JNU administration.
The Background of the Controversy
On 1st December 2022, slogans against Brahmin and Baniya communities were found written on the walls of the School of International Studies-II building of JNU.
The slogans read “Brahmin-Baniya, we are coming for you”, “We will avenge”, “Brahmins Leave the campus”, “Brahmins leave India”, “Now there will be blood”, and “Go back to Sakha” among others.
‘Go to the Shakha’ was written on the doors of the chambers of several professors, accusing them of being RSS members. The professors targeted by the miscreants included Nalin Kumar Mohapatra, Raj Yadav, Pravesh Kumar, and Vandana Mishra.
Delhi: Several buildings on Jawaharlal Nehru University campus were defaced with anti-Brahmin and anti-Baniya slogans.
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) December 1, 2022
Some of the slogans on the wall are ‘Brahmins Leave The Campus’, ‘There Will Be Blood’, and ‘Brahmino-Baniyas, we are coming for you! We will avenge.’ pic.twitter.com/94W93yETdx
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization affiliated with the RSS, has called it a “barbarism” by the Left.
ABVP President (JNU) Rohit Kumar said that a woman professor, whose gate had ‘Go Back to Shakha’ written on it, was held hostage for three days in 2019. Later, the the Office of the Registrar issued a strong statement condemning the vandalism.
In a statement, it informed that the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity had taken cognisance on the matter and that such display of intolerance would not be entertained.
“The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Santishree D. Pandit has taken a serious note of the incident of defacement of walls and faculty rooms by some unknown elements in SIS, JNU. The administration condemns these exclusivist tendencies on campus,” the note emphasised.
“Such incidents will not be tolerated as JNU belongs to all,” the Office of the Registrar further added. It further said that the Dean of the School of International Studies and Grievances Committee had been directed to submit a report about the incident to the Vice-Chancellor of JNU.
The Office of the Registrar of the varsity concluded, “JNU stands for inclusion and equality. The VC reiterates zero tolerance for any kind of violence on campus.” The note bore the signature of the acting Registrar
