The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) unit of Jadavpur University met the vice-chancellor last Monday and demanded that “necessary measures” be taken to prevent “graffiti” and “vandalism” on the campus.
Often linked to the RSS, the ABVP also demanded the installation of more CCTV cameras across the campus to strengthen surveillance.
In a charter of demands submitted to the university authorities, the ABVP said that “necessary measures should be taken to prevent graffiti and unauthorised wall writings that damage the aesthetic and heritage value of the university campus”.
Nikhil Das, president of the ABVP’s JU unit, said the organisation wanted restrictions on graffiti and unauthorised wall writings so that slogans such as “Azad Kashmir” were not written on campus walls.
“Anti-India activities will not be tolerated on the campus. Therefore, we have sought a curb on graffiti,” said Das, who is also a member of the RSS state committee.
At the same time, Das said the ABVP was not opposed to all forms of wall writing and wanted the university to create designated spaces for it.
“While demanding that unauthorised wall writings be curbed, we want the university authorities to come up with designated zones for wall writings. Random wall writings make the campus look ugly,” said Das, a research scholar.
Vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said the university would examine the demands.
“We had whitewashed the ‘Azad Kashmir’ graffiti last year. We can think of developing designated areas for wall writings,” Bhattacharjee said.
He added that the number of CCTV cameras on the campus could be increased if the state government provided additional funds.
RSS-affiliated teachers’ association Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) had met the VC on May 15 and sought his response within a week on alleged irregularities in the recruitment of deans, placement officer and faculty secretaries.
A section of JU students criticised the ABVP for demanding measures to prevent graffiti and wall writings.
Anirban Sandhukhan, who is pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, said: “Graffiti and wall writings have always been used as tools to voice the protest of the marginalised and deprived against the state atrocities. Seeking necessary measures against the graffiti and wall writings is unfair and undemocratic”.
“The ABVP made similar demands at Jawaharlal Nehru University,” he said.
Indranuj Ray, an undergraduate student who is the JU unit president of the ultra-Left Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF), said: “Graffiti and wall writings make students aware of the socio-political issues. They encourage critical thinking among students. ABVP wants to strangulate the democratic space on the campus”.
The ABVP demanded that the university authorities take steps to improve the infrastructure on the campus.
Setting up a central research facility on the campus was featured among their demands.