Kolkata: Students at Jadavpur University on Thursday “reclaimed” the campus walls by painting stencils and writing slogans after a KMC drive to whitewash “objectionable” graffiti early Wednesday.
Students identifying themselves as “rashtravadi students of JU” put up banners featuring Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s image and his quote on Palestine, to counter “anti-national” attacks. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier objected to the writing of “Free Palestine” in a speech and X post.
Vajpayee’s quote on the banner read: “The land of the Arabs that Israel has occupied must be vacated... and the legitimate rights of the Palestinians must be established.”
Comparative literature student Abhinaba Basu said, “I don’t know who put up the banner, but the statement is correct. Vajpayee was a senior BJP neta, and this was his statement. Now, the state govt is trying to label everyone who speaks in favour of Palestine as ‘anti-national’. It seems that the BJP does not have a clear consensus among themselves.”
Chemical engineering student Nabab said, “Vajpayee stated this multiple times. Now, they are calling the wall writings ‘anti-national’. This exposes their hypocrisy.”
Nationalist Students’ Front (NSF) founding member Somsurya Banerjee said, “We have no connection with it. The Left and ultra-Left have done it to portray themselves as ‘nationalist’.”
Sanjiban Dip Barman, ABVP’s JU unit secretary, denied putting up the banner and called it an “attempt to malign them”.
Art Against Oppression (AAO) members began “reclaiming” the campus walls by writing “Manipur is still burning/ Assam is still drowning” and “Rapists are on bail / Students are in jail!” on Technology Bhavan walls.
Another group of students wrote slogans such as “Mussoulini ko de di Azadi, RSS ko bhi denge Azadi” and “Maafi Veer Savarkar” on the walls of Triguna Sen Auditorium, Technology Bhavan and the Open Air Theatre.
AAO members drew stencil portraits of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul, Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Nityananda Mahaprabhu, with the phrase “Dimagi Naxal?” on Technology Bhavan walls.
History student Rijupalika Mukherjee said, “Each one of them questioned and criticised the system in their own ways — through music, poetry, literature and philosophy. Does that make them a threat to the nation as well? We’re trying to make the point that those who uphold these personalities, who are considered the pride of our nation, cannot be anti-nationals. Criticising the system does not make anyone anti-national; instead, it shows that they love their country enough to ask for a better society without oppression and injustice for all fellow citizens.”
AIDSO painted a portrait of Netaji along with his quotes at Gate 4: “Dharma-ke sompurno rupe rajniti theke baad deoya uchit, dhormo byakti bishesher bishoy howa uchit... Aishwara kingba otindriyo bishoyer dwara rajniti porichalito howa uchit noy...” (Religion should be excluded from politics and should remain a personal matter... Politics shouldn’t be guided by divine or supernatural considerations).
ABVP’s JU unit held a ‘Vandemataram Yatra’ from Aurobindo Bhavan and put up banners showing Vidyasagar, Tagore, Khudiram, Sri Aurobindo, Nandalal Bose’s illustration of Ram and Subhas Chandra Bose in the Indian Constitution. Sanjiban Dip Barman said, “The rally is to re-establish nationalism and uproot Maoism and Naxalism from the campus.”