'Institutionalising Hate Politics': NLIU Bhopal Students Oppose Event on Campus

The event vilified scholars like Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar with posters calling them 'Ten Heads of Ravana'.

The National Law Institute University (NLIU) in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal sparked a controversy after students opposed the university's decision to host the Young Thinker's Conclave which "aims to muster and nurture the bright, young and intellectual thinkers of the India," as per their website.

The event scheduled for Saturday, 30 September and Sunday, 1 October, drew flak for antagonising scholars such as Ramachandra Guha, historian Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, among others.

Posters calling these intellectuals 'Ten Heads of Ravana' were put outside the conclave venue. Additionally, books with titles such as 'Hindu Rashtra', ‘Jihad', and 'Tipu Sultan: Hero or Villain' were being sold at the event venue.

The college administration, however, removed these posters following outrage on social media.

Speakers invited to this two-day conclave include Rashmi Sawant, Swati Goel Sharma, and Neeraj Atri, among others. Several students who spoke to The Quint claimed that these people have aired discriminatory and polarising social and political views in the past.

An NLIU student, on the condition of anonymity, told The Quint, "We tried speaking to the Vice Chancellor (VC) but the administration was already aware of our posts circulating on the internet. Our careers could be on the line. The Student Bar Association (SBA) might even give the administration a list of our names.”

They added, “If you check the live link of the event, you'd see that it's plain hatred and propaganda. We're not even allowed to ask questions because they are selecting students who can enter the convention centre once they have registered. Some students who were vocal against the event on social media were even kicked out of the hall."

Several students confirmed to The Quint that neither the students nor most of the faculty members knew the nature of the topics and the choice of panelists being invited.

NLIU student body president Nrip Kumar Bhati asked The Quint to "stay out of the internal matters of the NLIU.” Another student who wishes to be anonymous stated that many members of the SBA had also raised objections since 25 September, but they went unheard.

‘Extremely Triggering, Especially For Minority Students’

One of the students opposing the conclave told The Quint, “The content being discussed is transphobic and Islamophobic, but the VC is defending it under the garb of ‘free speech,’ and assured students that there would be no hate speech.”

"One of the panel members asked questions such as, 'Do you know who is imaandar? Do you know who is a true Muslim?' People were shouting and laughing. Many anti-Christian, anti-Missionary comments were also made. Muslims, Christians and students from other marginalised communities are feeling triggered."

NLUI Student to The Quint

'Platform for Dissemination of Religious Propaganda'

The Quint accessed a copy of the email sent by members of SBA to the VC on 30 September, in which they stated that the conclave "appears to be a platform for the dissemination of religious propaganda."

"The banners placed in front of the convention centre do not seem to serve any meaningful academic agenda. Instead, they appear to be aimed at ridiculing certain individuals without contributing positively to the intellectual discourse we hold dear," the email read.

The email added that the books being sold are "blatant targeting of religious minorities deeply concerning and unacceptable."

Former students of the University have also emailed to the VC on 1 October in support of the email sent by the students a day earlier.

Expressing their concern of such an event on the students, the alumni has asked the University to take immediate action on the event's content and issue a statement clarifying their dissociation from the event.

The first day of the conclave on Saturday, 30 September was also attended by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.

'Jai Shri Ram Slogans Raised'

A recording of the event, accessed by The Quint, showed 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans being raised in the auditorium.

"The university is hosting speakers who spread hate, there are discussing religion in a law university and that too in the most vile manner. There are chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' inside the halls, we are being screened on the basis of our objection/support for this event and I wasn't even allowed to enter the hall."

NLIU student to The Quint

One of the panelists talking about the Sabarimala case, labelled it as an example of 'radical feminism.'

For context, the Supreme Court in 2018 declared the prohibition of women in their 'menstruating years' from entering Kerala's Sabarimala temple as unconstitutional.

Pranjal Agarwal, Advocate and an ex-alumnus told The Quint, "I was part of the Student Bar Association drafting committee when I was in college. We had seen such politics play out then as well. 'Young Thinkers Conclave' is an out and out BJP exercise. This is institutionalising hateful politics into a premier institute."

According to several students, Professor Raka Aarya, Dean, Student Welfare has allegedly been on a "witch-hunt" targeting students who are writing against the event on social media platforms.

A former student of the university said that a faculty member wrote to them about the event claiming that the students 'were frightened'.

"It was sad the way it was done. An event of this scale was organised and no one had any knowledge. It was announced out of the blue that the university will observe a holiday in lieu of some working day on 16 July. The university never gave any compensatory off till now but I felt this was very strategic."

Faculty Member to a college alumni

'Don't Take the Event Seriously': VC

Talking to The Quint, the VC of the NLIU Bhopal, Surya Prakash said that he is "unaware of discussions going on in the program and to not take it seriously."

The university has no stake in this, some students came to us asking permission to host the event and so we allowed. I am not aware of the discussions going on in the program. I only attended it for half an hour to say hi and then I left.

VC Surya Prakash to The Quint

An email was also sent by the VC to the students, he stated, "Merely, the program was conducted on our campus, don't misunderstand that we endorse their ideas."

'Trying to Have a Healthy Discussion': Forum's Director

Talking to The Quint, Ashutosh Thakur, Director of the Young Thinkers' Forum said that the event aims to "establish a dialogue with the young audiences of age 18-35 age groups."

Acknowledging that he is aware of the objections raised by the students of the campus, he said that his team has been "asking them to sit down and discuss their issues but as organisers, they can't allow miscreants to create disturbance while the event is underway."

On being asked if he is aware of the alleged Islamophobic content endorsed by a few of the speakers, he said, "People are digging up the past, we are trying to have healthy discussions on important topics at the event."

Meanwhile, several ex-students also took to platform X (Twitter) to express their disapproval of the conclave and the panelists invited.

Another student, wishing to be anonymous told The Quint, "Politicisation of the campus, college infrastructure and students is our main issue with events like these."

"The political nature of such events, the manipulative speeches, the objectionable characterisation of things creates disharmony, it will haunt the institution for years to come because after events like these two students might not see each other the same. This is poison for young minds and that's what we have a problem with," they added.