ABVP activists attempt to disrupt lecture
An attempt to disrupt the lecture of social activist Teesta Setalvad on the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus by the activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) led to tension on Saturday. But the situation was diffused with the timely intervention of the police and other student groups.
Ms. Setalvad, who is known for her campaign against the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, was here to deliver a lecture on “Politics in Gujarat: Communal violence and quest for Justice”, organised by the Students Union of the University. As she was delivering her lecture a group of ABVP activists raised slogans demanding her to leave the campus.
However, students present at the lecture immediately confronted the slogan-raising activists and moved them out of the Ambedkar auditorium where the lecture was on. Students of various other groups also joined and forced the ABVP activists to leave the premises. Activists of Students Federation of India (SFI), who dominate the Students Union body, said that Ms. Setalvad later delivered her lecture and also answered several questions of the participants.
However, the ABVP activists claimed that she had to leave midway due to their protests. A representative of ABVP said the students union had organised the lecture without informing the two ABVP office-bearers, a charge that is rejected outright by the Students Union. “The decision was taken in the council meeting,” the students union said.
No action taken
The ABVP activists claimed that they raised slogans against Ms. Setalvad only when she made some ‘disparaging’ remarks on Hindu youngsters being communalised. “We objected to her lecture as she expressed some radical views. We represented to the Dean, Students’ Welfare (DSW) against organising the lecture but no action was taken.” he said.
Keywords: University of Hyderabad, Setalvad lecture, ABVP activists
In a democratic country, everybody should be allowed to speak his/her mind. ABVP should have been banned long before for its links with terrorist activities which are still being probed.
The person who commented here probably was not there in the auditorium
and so he manipulated the information. In the post lecture session
ABVP was requested to ask the question but they were not enough
courageous and well read to ask the question or to argue against/with
Teesta Setalvad. Setalvad said BJP represents only a part of the
people and she used the word saffron flag to make it clear that India
in their term is not the India which exists. And the 'Laal Salam' is a
gesture, a revolutionary greeting not a flag or not the demand for
partial, biased Indian nation.
The ABVP cadres were asked several time to ask the question but they
were raising slogan only. They entered in the auditorium with their
flags which means they were prepared to create the problem.If it was
mistake from the part of students' union they could take necessary steps
instead of waiting till the moment lecture had been started. If it was a
wrong mechanism from the part of students' union for taking decision,
why the ABVP cadres did not use any single word against the students'
union except shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Joy'?
in the session everyone had the opportunitity to raise questions,
actually it was the ABVP which showed their back towards it.also they
tried to disrupt the whole proceedings.
ABVP "patriots" should have listened to the lecture and asked questions if they had any. They indulge in goonda culture they inherit from their masters. They have to be confronted and defeated.
Shame on students union to conduct a talk with so-called social activist like Teesta,who was accused of pressuring Zaheera Sheikh, the key witness in the Best Bakery case, accused for violation in receiving foreign funds, accused of filling false affidavits in many courts etc..
It was highly immature on the part of the Studentss' Union and Teesta Setalvad as well to organised such a lecture without the knowledge of two of the members of the union and the Campus security, when the city is already facing the brunt of communal violence. It was not surprising to see how a lecture titled 'Politics in Gujarat: Communal violence and quest for Justice' was more of a hate speech against the right wing, rather than anything knowledgable or intellectual.
When the ABVP activists protested in between her speech, she said that saffron is not what represents India, but a tri-color. Then what does a 'Lal Salam' represent, which she very openly endorsed in her speech? She stuck with her idea of manipulating facts, by saying that the BJP was responsible for erroneous texts in the History textbooks in the 80's, when BJP was not even in power, and making sensitive comment like 'Hindus disguised as Muslims have spearheaded the terrorist attacks in the country'. At the end she was thankful to her "brave" brothers for guarding her at the entrance of the auditorium, who man-handled and pushed the ABVP activists out of the auditorium, and dint allow anyone inside to ask questions post lecture. And amidst all the commotion, hardly anyone noticed how she ignored a question by a student on Zaheera Sheikh, with an expressionless reply 'You should allow others to ask questions'. And the "other" questions by "other" students were very well answered.
Typical intolerance mentality on part of ABVP.
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