Rangoli Wrecked, Pro-Palestine Slogans 'Raised': Tensions Escalate In Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University During Diwali Celebration Event

A scuffle broke out at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi on Tuesday (22 October) night during Diwali celebrations, prompting police deployment outside the campus.

The Diwali celebration event was disrupted after clash between two groups.

A video of the incident shows a group of people purportedly chanting slogans in what appeared to be during Diwali celebrations on the Jamia campus.

In other clips on social media, some students claimed that a group of people chanted ‘Palestine Zindabad’ while disrupting Diwali celebrations.

The incident reportedly took place during the annual Diwali celebration programme conducted by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Tensions escalated when members of one group allegedly destroyed rangolis created by students, sparking a confrontation between the two sides.

The altercation reportedly took place inside Gate No. 7 of the university premises in Delhi.

“The incident occurred around 7:30-8 pm near gate 7. A group of students affiliated with the ABVP were putting up diyas and making rangolis for Diwali, which displeased another group of students. The other group wrecked the decorations, which led to a scuffle. Both sides engaged in sloganeering,” The Indian Express quoted deputy commissioner of police Southeast Ravi Kumar as saying.

The videos going viral on social media show people walking into the event with slogans, causing a physical altercation between the two groups.

In an official statement, the ABVP said that outsider "religious extremists and anti-social elements" disrupted the event at the venue.

"They raised provocative slogans like "Palestine Zindabad," vandalised the lamps (diyas), destroyed the rangoli (traditional art), and began assaulting the Jamia students who were participating in the celebration. The university administration remained a mute spectator," the ABVP alleged.

"In this unfortunate incident, these external miscreants also misbehaved with the female students of the university, hurled lewd remarks at them, and wiped out the rangoli they had created with their feet," it said.

"The question arises: Is it a crime to celebrate Diwali or chant "Bharat Mata ki Jai" in a central university in India?," the organisation asked.

Asserting that the university campus belongs to all students, and raising anti-national and extremist slogans at Jamia is unacceptable, the ABVP urged the Delhi Police to take strict action against the extremists and religious fanatics responsible for the violence during Deepotsav.

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