The University of Hyderabad and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad have locked horns over the installation of a memorial commemorating Kargil War heroes on the campus.
The university has remained tense since Wednesday when the ABVP installed a temporary memorial on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The university claims that the memorial was installed after the official function ended at 4.30 p.m.
The ABVP claimed that on Thursday, the administration sent guards to remove the makeshift structure.
“We wanted to remove it by the end of Thursday after a two-day commemoration event. But security guards tried removing the structure in an unceremonious way. The national flag was in the vicinity of the memorial,” said ABVP State joint secretary N. Mahesh. “In protest, we decided to erect a permanent installation.” Later on Thursday, the police reached the venue to convince the students to remove the temporary structure, citing lack of permission. However, by then, they had begun setting up a permanent structure.
“On Friday, the structure was inaugurated as Amar Jawan Jyoti Memorial and we are calling the place Kargil Chowk,” Mr. Mahesh said.
The campus remained tense on Friday evening with security personnel deployed at the spot even as students kept an eye on the sidelines. The university administration in a press release has stated no student organisation has been permitted to installed any structure.
“As per University rules, no group can erect any permanent or semi-permanent structure on the campus, altering its physical environment, without the explicit permission of the administration,” the press release reads. “The University is taking a serious view of such activities and will initiate a dialogue with all student groups to desist from such actions.”