On 26th March, the students of Ashoka University raised Hinduphobic slogans during protests. Videos of the students raising slogans like “Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad” went viral on social media. Apart from abusing Brahmin and Baniya communities, they raised slogans including “Jai Bheem-Jai Meem” and “Jai Savitri-Jai Fatima”. They also demanded caste census and reservation at Ashoka.
Ashoka University: Students shouting slogans of "Jai Bheem-Jai Meem" – Jai Savitri-Jai Fatima" are shouting 'Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad"! Leftist-Izlamists Gang are preparing a new breed of Radicals among Hindus pic.twitter.com/zVa9UyXKJo
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) March 27, 2024
Netizens react to Hinduphobic slogans
Reacting to the ‘Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad’ slogans, netizens criticised the University for allowing such sloganeering at the premises. DD News journalist Prakhar Shrivastava questioned who was filling those students with hate.
अशोका यूनिवर्सिटी में "ब्राह्मण वाद – बनिया वाद मुर्दाबाद" के नारे लगाये गये। क्या मतलब है इसका… कौन इनके दिमाग में ज़हर भर रहा है? #Ashoka_University pic.twitter.com/ruj1Y2vbLs
— Prakhar Shrivastava (@Prakharshri78) March 27, 2024
Anshul Saxena wrote, “This is from Ashoka University. Slogan is Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad. First, they targeted Brahmins, and now Baniyas. Anyone who believes it is limited to specific castes is mistaken; eventually, caste by caste, they will target you. Their goal is to divide & attack Hindus.”
This is from Ashoka University.
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) March 27, 2024
Slogan is Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad.
First, they targeted Brahmins, and now Baniyas. Anyone who believes it is limited to specific castes is mistaken; eventually, caste by caste, they will target you. Their goal is to divide & attack Hindus. pic.twitter.com/WBEv2RiYZv
X user Mr Sinha wrote, “Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad” such slogans are being raised in Ashoka University. They accuse Brahmins for doing atrocities in the past but what about Baniya samaj? The fact is they don’t hate Brahmins, Baniya, or any other caste, they hate Hinduism. Such woke clowns deserve beIt treatment.”
Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad” such slogans are being raised in Ashoka University.
— Mr Sinha (Modi's family) (@MrSinha_) March 27, 2024
They accuse Brahmins for doing atrocities in the past but what about Baniya samaj?
The fact is they don't hate Brahmins, Baniya, or any other caste, they hate Hinduism.
Such woke clowns deserve… pic.twitter.com/zHbUtmXwRL
Reportedly, similar agitation took place on 22nd March as well. A group called Social Justice Forum was behind the agitation; in a social media post, they proudly said that they “successfully” disrupted Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani’s “masterclass on Branding” scheduled for noon on 22nd March.
Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad
— @socialjusticeforum (@forum2024) March 26, 2024
Ashoka Admin Murdabad
We Demand Caste Census #WeDemandCasteCensusAtAshoka#WeDemandReservationAtAshoka
The SJF successfully disrupted Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani's "Masterclass on Branding" Talk held at 12pm on 22nd March; A Thread pic.twitter.com/e0gR1RMrHk
Replying to the post, the founder of Info Edge, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, refuted the claims and said, “A bit of an overclaim. The protesting students came and stood outside the class door during the ten-minute break after the first hour of the class. They shouted slogans for two or three minutes and then went away. I was inside the classroom in a conversation with some students. We continued the conversation without interruption. I had been given prior notice that this would happen and I should not get alarmed. All very civilised. No disruption. My advice to the protesting students – Ashoka is a small community.” He further asked the students if they want census, they should do it themselves rather than depending on the admin to do it for them.
A bit of an overclaim. The protesting students came and stood outside the door of the class during the ten minute break after the first hour of the class. They shouted slogans for two or three minutes and then went away. I was inside the classroom in a conversation with some…
— Sanjeev Bikhchandani (@sbikh) March 26, 2024
According to the Punjab Kesari report, the agitation started seven days ago. The students are demanding a caste census in the University on the lines of the demand for a caste census raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his election campaign.
The students demand that a caste census be conducted at the University every year to know how many students and employees of general and backward categories are there. Apart from the caste census, they also demand zero penalty for late fees, organise events to remember Dr BR Ambedkar and more.
While the University has released a press note saying they would find a solution to the demands, no action has been taken against the students for raising Hinduphobic slogans on the University campus.
Ashoka University and its history of controversies
Ashoka University has a history of controversies. In January 2021, a faculty member at Ashoka University named Neelanjan Sircar, mocked Bhagwan Ram under the pretext of criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party. In a post on X, he wrote, “Totally amazing! This isn’t Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, it’s a picture of famous Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee playing Netaji in a movie.” While his tweet, until this part, reeked only of falsehood, he then decided to take a jibe at Hindu beliefs.
“And this after yelling ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at a Netaji event. The bankruptcy of political appropriation of independence-era leaders,” the faculty member of Ashoka University added. He later deleted the post. His post was in response to then-President Ramnath Kovind inaugurating a portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In August 2023, Ashoka University faced criticism over a shoddy research paper that made dubious claims about election manipulation. Interestingly, while the University distanced itself from the research paper, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and leftist propagandists had amplified it.
The research paper was submitted by Economics professor Sabyasachi Das, who claimed that the BJP won elections by “voter manipulation”. His claims were based on the alleged “finding” that the BJP won at least 11 seats in the 2019 elections, which gave it a 50-50 chance of winning. The BJP had won 303 seats in the 2019 general elections, ensuring a landslide, thumping majority far ahead of the majority tally of 274. The NDA alliance, in total, had won over 353 seats. After the university distanced itself from the research paper, Das resigned from his position and got support from the Leftist ecosystem.
