Varsity Turmoil

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and other elite Indian academic institutions increasingly find themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. So-called ideological battles waged in the campuses of such varsities needlessly deepen social divides. JNU’s recent scuffle during a University Governing Body Meeting (UGBM), where students from leftist groups clashed with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members over alleged derogatory remarks about Lord Ram, reveal a pattern across elite institutes where a narrow ideological stance often dictates what can or cannot be voiced on campus.

The ABVP, the student wing affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), issued a scathing condemnation, accusing leftist students of attempting to stoke communal disharmony by disrespecting Hindu religious icons with a deliberate attempt to provoke.

The Ramjanmabhoomi dispute, centering on the birthplace of Lord Ram and the contested site in Ayodhya, has been one of India’s most politically charged issues for decades. Left-leaning academics, many of whom have had their haunts in JNU, have played a highly contentious role in this narrative, often distorting and selectively interpreting historical evidence and, in some cases, casting doubt on Hindu claims to the site.

Earlier in March this year, the campus has witnessed slogans from leftist students calling for liberation from ‘Brahmanism,’ for supporting Palestine and raising contentious statements critical of the government. Videos had circulated showing students chanting, “Mile Phule-Kanshi Ram, Hawa Mein Ud Gaye Jai Shri Ram”—a slogan hearkening back to the early 1990s when the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance directly confronted Hindu nationalist slogans. In the backdrop of these chants lies the shadow of past controversies, such as the infamous 2016 protests in which slogans like “Bharat tere tukde honge” (India will be broken up) had resonated through JNU’s halls.

Why does an institution ostensibly devoted to scholarly pursuit indulge in polarizing rhetoric?

Established in the 1960s, JNU was conceived as an experimental institution - a cradle for progressive ideas that could challenge orthodoxy. Yet over time, leftist ideologies came to dominate the campus ethos. Today, many student bodies continue to believe that JNU’s role is to serve as the voice of dissent, unafraid to confront mainstream political currents. For some on campus, slogans critiquing Hindu nationalism are seen not as anti-Hindu but as anti-majoritarian, challenging a religious-political nexus viewed as a threat to India’s secularism.

JNU has produced generations of activists and scholars who see themselves as challengers of the mainstream but often fail to recognize the downright impracticality and ideological blind spots in their approach.

Their campus rhetoric hardly produces any constructive debate.