Kirori Mal College students protest against RSS event on campus
NEW DELHI: Kirori Mal College (KMC) at Delhi University became the epicenter of student protests on Tuesday as students voiced their opposition against the hosting of a program by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on college grounds. The demonstration underscored concerns over the alleged infiltration of divisive communal forces within educational institutions.
The protest highlighted a growing apprehension among students regarding the perceived bias of college administrations towards entities such as the RSS. Some students view such affiliations posing a significant threat to the principles of India’s constitution and the legacy of the freedom struggle.
In recent years, there has been mounting discontent among students who feel that campus democracy is under siege, with independent student activities facing surveillance and control. The decision to permit the RSS program at KMC has reignited fears that educational spaces are being co-opted as platforms to advance communal agendas. A student at Kirori Mal College (KMC), speaking with Millennium Post, expressed concerns about the trend of inviting RSS figures for seminars and talks within educational spaces at KMC and other colleges affiliated with Delhi University.
The student believed that such invitations amount to promoting propaganda rather than fostering an environment of open dialogue and intellectual exchange.
The president of AISA DU, condemned what he described as a trend where affiliations with communal ideologies appeared to be the primary criterion for obtaining permission for events on campus. He questioned the administrative mechanisms granting authoritarian control over student activities, urging resistance against such practices. Shambhavi, Vice President of AISA DU, echoed these sentiments, emphasising the need to resist the suppression of critical voices and dissent within academic institutions. According to Shambhavi, students have been actively exposing the alleged collusion between college administrations and groups like the RSS.
Students belonging to various DU colleges have resolved to staunchly oppose any efforts by college administrations, in collaboration with what they term the “Sangh Brigade,” to transform campuses into platforms for propagating RSS ideologies. The movement for campus democracy, they assert, must be fortified to safeguard the pluralistic ethos of educational institutions.
