State higher education department glare on Jadavpur University graffiti with ‘foreign links’
Times of India | 1 September 2026
Kolkata: The state govt has reportedly told Jadavpur University (JU) that any graffiti with “links to foreign countries”—Cuba, China, Russia—will not be encouraged and may be dealt with sternly, prompting the campus authorities to consider forming a committee to check the wall paintings and decide what is “acceptable and what is not”.
“The state stance is that quotes and poems by writers associated with foreign countries, such as Cuba, China and Russia, should be avoided,” said a higher education department official. “Instead, students must focus on our national icons and their works for graffiti.” An official said the department also frowned upon the graffiti, “Remove ban on CPI (Maoist)”, beside Triguna Sen auditorium and asked the university to wipe it out at the earliest. VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said, “Writings, like ‘Remove ban on CPI (Maoist)‘ is highly objectionable. This makes no sense on the JU campus as we did not ban them. A nation-wide ban has been implemented from the ministry of home affairs. We will erase that writing.”
Bhattacharjee shared, “I may set up a committee that will go around the campus and check the graffiti being. It is otherwise difficult to find who is writing what and where on this vast campus. Once we get a feedback, we will see what has to be done with the objectionable ones.”
The VC pointed out that he personally did not encourage political graffiti on campus though it was part of university’s tradition for a long time. “Those who visit us from outside, including my international project collaborators, do not appreciate it. It is unimaginable in foreign universities, and even in many reputable universities in our country. The political graffiti, posters and banners on the walls give the university a dirty look. I would encourage students to write quotes by Tagore, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and figures associated with the Bengal Renaissance and our national freedom struggle,” he said.
Bhattacharjee urged students to exercise restraint so that the graffiti did not hurt another person’s ideology or sentiments. “Everyone’s political ideology can be different. But a problem arises when that ideological battle is used to harm others. Everyone has the right to their own political ideology but it is never right to hurt someone else’s sentiments.”
Reacting to the slogan, “Reclaim the Wall”, by students, Bhattacharjee said it was similar to “Reclaim the Night” cry but it should be viewed differently. “The wall is ultimately the property of Jadavpur University. It is not anyone else’s property. So, “Reclaim the Night” and “Reclaim the Wall” should not be viewed in the same light.”