JNU Ram Navami row ‘unfortunate’, varsity ‘very secular’, says VC as probe begins
JNU Vice Chancellor Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said that the administration will not like such incidents to happen again as it has 'zero tolerance' for violence
JNU Vice Chancellor Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit / ANI
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit on Wednesday called the violence at the varsity’s Kaveri hostel on the day on Ram Navami “unfortunate” and a proctorial inquiry has been ordered into it incident.
In an exclusive interview to CNN IBN, the JNU Vice Chancellor said that the administration will not like such incidents to happen again as it has “zero tolerance” for violence. “We are a very secular institution and we believe that everybody is a JNUite first and all other identities come later."
Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said of the 16 hostels across JNU violence was reported only in one (Kaveri hostel). All the other hostels had the same programme - iftaar party and Ram Navami havans were held.
Non-vegetarian menu vs Ram Navami puja: What led to a brawl on JNU campus?
She said, “A proctorial inquiry has been ordered into it incident so that we get the facts and then we are able to take action on whoever is responsible for this violence because students are here to study.”
On Sunday, 10 April, an incident of violence was reported in JNU in which two groups of students clashed allegedly over meat being served in the hostel canteen on the occasion of Ram Navami. As many as six students were injured in the scuffle that took place at Kaveri hostel.
There are two versions of what happened in JNU on Sunday; according to the Left’s JNU students’ union (JNUSU), the members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) created a ruckus, and assaulted members of the Kaveri Hostel mess over cooking of chicken on Sunday.
ABVP members alleged that members of Left-wing student outfits disrupted a prayer ceremony organised on the occasion of Ram Navami by shouting slogans.
For the unversed, JNU offers chicken at the mess on Sundays for non-vegetarian students and paneer is on the menu for vegetarians.
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Non-vegetarian menu vs Ram Navami puja: What led to a brawl on JNU campus?
Six students were injured after clashes broke out near the Kaveri hostel on the campus. While Left-wing students accused the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of stopping them from eating non-vegetarian food, the latter said that they were prevented from conducting a Ram Navami puja