JNUSU hits out at ABVP for burning effigy with Umar, Sharjeel’s faces 

Tensions flared on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Thursday after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) burnt an effigy of Ravana with the faces of jailed student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam pasted on it.

The move, carried out during Dasara celebrations, drew sharp condemnation from the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), which accused the ABVP of spreading “politics of hate”. The effigy burning was organised at the call of Vaibhav Meena, JNUSU Joint Secretary and the only ABVP member on the four-member union panel.

In a joint statement, the other office bearers of JNUSU said, “The RSS and ABVP are known for dividing society on communal lines. We request all students to isolate these forces and stand up against their politics of hate and disharmony.”

“Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been incarcerated for the last five years and are still under trial. Their bail pleas have been rejected multiple times on flimsy grounds. Intellectuals, democratic activists, and jurists across the globe have raised concerns over the incarceration of political prisoners under the BJP’s rule,” the three members said, calling for the burning of ABVP members’ effigies in response.

Defending the effigy burning, Mr. Meena said, “This year, the effigy of Ravana was burned as a symbol of Naxalism, Leftism, Maoist violence, and anti-national ideologies.” He added the two jailed student leaders and others were portrayed as the multiple heads of Ravana, whose “symbolic destruction was declared”.