At DU march, ABVP vows to protect varsity's 'nationalist' ethos

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Thursday staged a march in the Delhi University, vowing to prevent its “nationalist” ethos from getting “corrupted” by leftist sentiments and “anti-nationals”.

The march was its attempt to retaliate against All India Students' Association and assorted Left-inclined groups, which had put up a massive anti-ABVP show on February 28, by projecting alleged violence “perpetrated” by Communists in the country.

“There is a conspiracy to poison the environment at DU, like they did at JNU and we will not allow that. This march was in response to the recent march of Left-groups and to give them a message that DU has nationalist sentiments,” ABVP’s National Media Convener Saket Bahuguna said.

The marchers, waving the tricolour, affirmed that they will not allow any activity that is “anti-national”, a term increasingly in vogue with the right-wing.

They also brandished posters with photographs seeking to depict “violence perpetrated by the Communists” in various parts of the country.

‘DU against intellectual terrorism’, ‘Rapist AISA go back’, ‘DU against anti-nationals’ were few of the slogans written on the posters which drew sharp reactions from Left-affiliated groups.

The Left groups also alleged that the demonstration had “outsiders”, mainly from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“DU students didn’t join ABVP March today - they had to import cadre in buses from Agra and elsewhere. A photo of one such bus attached,” Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation leader Kavita Krishnan tweeted.

Defending the posters, Bahuguna said, “People are saying that the images on the posters are horrific but imagine the torture the families of these men, who were killed by the Communist goons, had to face”.

The march came in the wake of recent violence at Ramjas cancel where ABVP and AISA clashed over cancellation of a seminar invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid.

Chanting slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, the protesters started the march from the university’s Arts faculty, where it ended as well after a round of the North Campus.

Reacting to the posters, Left-backed AISA said, “ABVP resorts to hate-mongering by putting provocative hoardings on campus trying to justify the violence unleashed on Ramjas campus”.

Slogans for ‘azaadi’ and ‘cheeky ABVP why so creepy’, had echoed in the DU campus on Tuesday during an anti-ABVP march joined by over 2,000 students and teachers against “onslaught” on universities and “curb” on dissent.

Students, teachers and non-teaching staff from various universities including JNU, Jamia and Ambedkar University, participated in the protest march.