In order to protest the “pressure from the right wing ABVP”, students from Kashmir distributed traditional beverage Kehwa at the annual International Food Festival held in the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday.
The students put up a separate counter offering Kehwa to visitors outside the venue as a mark of protest. The organisers of the event, International Students Association, had earlier denied permission to the Kashmiri students to put up a separate food counter allegedly after being “threatened” by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the BJP.
“It was just to send out the message that hooliganism cannot be allowed to take over the democratic space of the University campus. Also, no amount of threatening can subdue the fact that Kashmir is a disputed territory. If the organisers could be allowed to install a counter of Palestine, why not Kashmir,” a JNU student, who was part of the protest, said requesting anonymity.
Speaking about the controversy, a member of the organising committee of the Kashmir Food Counter said: “On January 20, a group of students from Kashmir booked a counter at the IFF. After completing necessary formalities and depositing security amount the festival organisers allotted space for Kashmir food counter along with the Tibet food counter. However, the ISA started receiving threats from ABVP.”
“The organisers received open warnings from ABVP threatening them with disrupting the festival in case Kashmiris were allowed to open their food counter. International students who organise it were threatened with legal action and deportation. Just two days before the festival, the booking for Kashmir food counter were cancelled.”
