Following an incident at Jamia Millia Islamia University, the university is now facing controversy over slogans written on the walls of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). On Saturday, inscriptions reading 'Free Omar Khalid' and 'Long Live Naxalwadi' were discovered on the JNU campus. The university administration has taken note of this matter.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protested these slogans, demanding that the identity of those responsible be established to take action. This incident occurred shortly after slogans such as 'Free Kashmir' and 'Free Sharjeel Imam' were found at Jamia, which also sparked controversy.
The JNU administration has launched an investigation into the matter. According to one staff member, attempts to disrupt peace on campus will not be tolerated. Sources associated with JNU have also stated that such graffiti is unacceptable. However, it is currently unclear who wrote these slogans, and the university continues its verification process.
The ABVP faction at JNU criticized the situation. The organization claims that left-wing student groups are attempting to spoil the academic atmosphere on campus. ABVP states that members of the All India Students Association (AISA) can be seen in photos from the campus making indecent inscriptions next to the portrait of V.D. Savarkar. The organization also questioned the placement of political slogans on university walls and demanded that the administration take action against those responsible.
The ABVP President at JNU, Maink Panchal, emphasized that humiliating national figures or damaging public property in the name of freedom of expression is unacceptable. The JNU division minister, Pravin Piyush, stated that the university does not belong to any single ideology, insisting on maintaining the dignity of the campus's academic environment.
Omar Khalid is a former JNU postgraduate student. He is currently imprisoned in connection with a major conspiracy case related to the Delhi riots in September 2020 and is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Fifty-three people died during the Delhi riots. Student organizations and human rights activists have expressed concern over Khalid's prolonged detention and delays in judicial proceedings, repeatedly calling for his release.
One day before the incident at JNU, inscriptions reading 'Free Kashmir' and 'Free Sharjeel Imam' were found on the walls of Jamia Millia Islamia. These slogans appeared amid protests demanding the restoration of student council elections at Jamia. The Jamia student council has not been functioning since 2006. Sharjeel Imam was also arrested in 2020 on charges related to speeches made during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Political discussions began after the discovery of the slogans at Jamia. Now that inscriptions have appeared at JNU, the administration is investigating, and ABVP is demanding action.