A brawl broke out between two groups of students of Ramjas college at the University of Delhi over a caste-based slogan, on Tuesday, 31 May.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that the altercation took place after a group of students affiliated to the Student’s Federation of India (SFI) edited a caste-based slogan painted on a wall by supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
“Reportedly, one group having affiliation with SFI edited a caste-based slogan painted by ABVP supporters over a wall, and changed it to another caste-based slogan. A verbal altercation turned to a physical altercation between the supporters of both the groups," a statement from the DCP said.
While there were no major injuries, the police reported that two to three students from both sides suffered minor injuries.
A statement by SFI read, "Activists of SFI Delhi and students of Ramjas College namely, Akhil, Sachin and Aman were brutally attacked by hooligans associating with caste-based groups, within the college campus. They took to assault in response to an argument on why caste based politics is wrong. The violent onslaughts on SFI activists, time and again, indicates the rising right-wing tendencies within democratic campus spaces."
“The emergence of widespread caste-based mobilisation is a threat to progressive and secular spaces that stand for the abolition of caste. Such incidents should be seen as some hostile vendetta against the development of SFI, a progressive and secular student organisation which opposes its casteist and non-secular politics,” a post on Instagram by the Jawaharlal Nehru University unit of the SFI read.
Meanwhile, ABVP denied the claims that it was involved in the brawl. A statement by ABVP read, "The brawl of two student groups of Ramjas college of Delhi University has come to light on Tuesday. It is claimed by SFI activists that their group was violently involved in a fight with ABVP karyakartas. It is a completely false assertion made against ABVP."
"Complaints have been received from both the groups alleging of excesses by the other group. Legal action is being initiated as per law," the DCP added.
(The Quint has reached out to ABVP and SFI for their comments on the incident. This article will be updated as and when we get a response.)
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