After the walls of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus was defaced with anti-Brahmin graffiti, the Office of the Registrar issued a strong statement condemning the vandalism.
In a statement [pdf] on Thursday (December 1), 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
The Background of the Incident
On Thursday (December 1), 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.
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.