Fresh row at JU as students’ union holds memorial for slain Maoist leaders
The Statesman | 3 December 2025
A fresh controversy has erupted at Jadavpur University after the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF), a Maoist-leaning students’ outfit, allegedly observed a symbolic “memorial event” for slain CPI (Maoist) leaders during its sixth state conference held at the university’s Vivekananda Hall on Sunday.
Several students have questioned how such a programme was permitted on campus, alleging that it amounted to tacit endorsement of anti-national activities. The row centres around naming of various sections of the conference venue. The RSF had symbolically renamed Kolkata as “Koteshwar Rao Nagar”, after the slain Maoist leader Kishenji, and designated Jadavpur University as “Basavaraju Hall”, in reference to CPI (Maoist) central committee member Nambala Kesav Rao alias Basavaraju.
Most controversially, the prestigious Vivekananda Hall was temporarily labelled “Hidma Manch”, after notorious Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who was killed in an encounter with Central forces in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitarama Raju district on 18 November. Hidma had a bounty of Rs 50 lakh on his head and was implicated in more than 26 major attacks. Students critical of the event described the proceedings as “an attempt to create an alternative Maoist state within a premier educational institution”. They allege that despite being aware of the nature of the programme, both the university authorities and the state administration chose to remain silent.
The RSF, however, has denied charges of promoting anti-national sentiments. Tathagata Ray Chowdhury, state secretary of the organisation, said, “The renaming was symbolic. No anti-national activity was encouraged.” However, sources present at the conference confirmed that a one-minute silence was observed for the deceased Maoist leaders. Vice-Chancellor Prof Chiranjib Bhattacharya declined to comment when asked about the permission granted for the event. Leaders of JUTA, the Left-affiliated teachers’ association, maintained that “all procedures were followed” and added that it was not possible to pre-screen topics that would emerge during discussions.
When contacted, the local police said the matter concerned “the university’s internal processes”, though officials added that the situation on campus was being closely monitored. The incident has once again revived debates over ideological extremism on university campuses and the boundaries of free expression within academic spaces.