Azim Premji University has filed a police complaint against students who had planned to hold an event relating to Kashmir on Tuesday at the institution’s campus in Bengaluru, reported The News Minute on Thursday.
The event was being conducted by a group called Spark Reading Circle APU to discuss the Kunan Poshpora incident, which pertains to allegations of mass rape by security personnel in two villages of Kashmir in February 1991.
Describing the event as an “anti-national activity”, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad held a protest on Tuesday. Members of the group allegedly smeared the university’s signage with black ink, entered the campus and spray-painted signboards and walls. They also allegedly assaulted security guards and students.
Eighteen members of the group were taken into police custody later that day.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Later on Tuesday, Azim Premji University Registrar Rishikesh BS filed a police complaint against Spark Reading Circle APU, saying that permission was not sought or granted for the event, reported The News Minute.
University protocol mandates approval for organising programmes on campus, The Hindu quoted the registrar as saying.
The university authorities also claimed that the Spark Reading Circle APU is not registered with the institution.
They added that “unknown individuals were misusing” the university’s name to “circulate content that could incite enmity between groups”, reported the newspaper.
A first information report has been registered based on the complaint, reported The Hindu.
On Thursday, the Student Council of Azim Premji University described the police complaint against the students as an “asymmetry in outcomes”.
It said that while organising an event on the campus without administrative approval may amount to a violation of protocol, such lapses should be handled by internal bodies and not through an FIR.
“What concerns us most is the asymmetry in outcomes that has followed the events of the past few days,” the council added. “Those who entered this campus uninvited, caused physical harm to members of our community and damaged university property have been granted bail and face bailable charges.”
On the other hand, the university students who organised a peaceful gathering are subjected to non-bailable charges, said the council.
Responding to such engagement with a criminal FIR undermines the institution’s commitment to intellectual freedom, it added.
Hours later, the General Student Body of the university stated that it condemns the action of the university authorities.
“The series of unexpected and unacceptable reactions from the university administration has fostered a sense of fear and mistrust among the students,” said the General Student Body.
It added that the “absence of any transparency or clear communication on the part of the authorities regarding next steps” has led to a “grave sense of upset and concerns regarding safety among students”.
“This move by the administration of branding students as criminals goes against the very foundation of what we are taught to strive for – a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society – which are framed as the university’s values,” said the student body.
Ahead of their protest, the ABVP had in a press release condemned the “anti-national, Kashmir separatist events and sessions against the Indian Army”.
In a memorandum addressed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, it had also sought strict action against the student group that organised the event and the university administration for allowing it.
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