Protests Erupt at Rajasthan University Over RSS-Linked Event
Clashes Between Students and Police
On Friday, multiple members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) at Rajasthan University were taken into custody following a confrontation with law enforcement during a demonstration against an event associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on campus.
The NSUI serves as the student wing of the Congress party.
The RSS is recognized as the ideological foundation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The protest was ignited by allegations from the NSUI that a seminar titled “Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan,” scheduled for Friday evening at the Faculty of Humanities auditorium, was intended to propagate RSS ideology under the guise of discussing women's empowerment.
According to reports, an RSS official named Ram Lal was slated to give the keynote address at the seminar.
The Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan is linked to Bharatiya Stree Shakti, which is part of the Sangh Parivar, a collective of Hindutva organizations led by the RSS.
During a press briefing on Thursday, NSUI members accused the university administration and the vice chancellor of indirectly endorsing programs associated with the RSS, claiming that such events disrupt the academic environment.
On the day of the protest, NSUI members gathered at the university's main entrance, chanting slogans against the RSS and attempting to breach police barricades, but were halted at the gate.
Vice Chancellor Alpana Kateja remarked that the university had not received any official notification regarding the event being sponsored by the RSS, clarifying that the auditorium was merely rented to a women's organization.
NSUI leader Amardeep Parihar, who spearheaded the protest, recalled that a previous event, “Shastra Pujan,” organized by the RSS on September 30, had also led to protests, resulting in the detention of several NSUI members.
This earlier program involved the worship of weapons in anticipation of the Hindu festival of Dussehra and was organized by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS's student wing.