Govt will not support vandalism at Jadavpur University: Bengal Minister

Clashes at Jadavpur University

Kolkata's Jadavpur University has been the scene of repeated clashes between student groups. On August 20, a confrontation broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Left students' union during a late-night Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union meeting. The confrontation escalated into stone-pelting and property destruction, leading to protests from both sides.

Fresh violence followed on Thursday, when clashes broke out between activists of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the ABVP outside the university campus in south Kolkata. The violence came a day after a similar confrontation left several students injured. Both student groups organized separate protest rallies to condemn the earlier clashes. Two incidents occurred: one at the 8B Bus Stand crossing between SFI activists and security personnel, and another in front of the university's main gate between SFI and ABVP activists. During the second clash, the engraved emblem of Jadavpur University, designed by the renowned painter Nandalal Bose, sustained damage. By Friday, the emblem had been repaired and reinstalled at gate number four.

Minister's response

State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul on Saturday condemned the damage to the university's emblem and said the government would not support vandalism, irrespective of which party was responsible. "If the special reputation and emblem of Jadavpur University, which has been passed down since the time of independence, is broken today, I do not support it," Paul said. "We do not support outsiders entering educational institutions. We will not support it, no matter which party it belongs to, even if it is from my party. Please do not bring politics into schools, colleges or universities; keep them out."

Paul also addressed the role of politics in education. "Once upon a time, it was called Anilayan, Parthayan or Mamatayan. But in our time, no one can say that. Those placed on the board by the current Chief Minister are not involved in politics. We do not want politics in everything." Her remarks came amid allegations that politics has played a role in the education sector during the Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments. The BJP has said it will keep the education sector free from politics, a message also conveyed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Viral video misleadingly linked to protests

Amid the violence, a video of men and women kissing during a public protest went viral on social media. Some people sharing it claimed it showed a Left student wing protest at Jadavpur University. India Today's fact-check unit investigated the footage and found it to be unrelated to the recent incidents.

The viral clip turned out to be from 2014. Reverse-searching frames from the video led to a Zee News Bangla YouTube video dated November 5, 2014, featuring similar visuals and some of the same individuals. The video's caption described the event as a "Kiss Protest" in Jadavpur, Kolkata. According to the fact-check, the exercise identified the protest as part of the "Kiss of Love" movement, which started on November 2, 2014, at Marine Drive in Kochi, in response to alleged moral policing by BJP youth wing workers in Kozhikode. The movement later spread to other places, including universities such as Delivered, JNU.

Reports from The Times of India and The Indian Express in 2014 noted that similar events had occurred at other Kolkata locations, including the Indian Coffee House and in front of Presidency University. A similar video from Jadavpur University had also circulated in July this year during the Cockroach Janata Party protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

Thus, the viral video showing moments from the 2014 protests has no connection to the recent clashes at Jadavpur University. Both the real-time events and the recurring online footage continue to focus attention on the campuses and the ongoing debate about the role of politics in higher education.