Dr BR Ambedkar’s birthday is commemorated across India as Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. Accordingly, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh organised an event on the same day. The official notice in this regard read, “Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow is celebrating Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Jayanti & University Foundation Day on 14th April, 2024...All the University fraternity is requested to attend/participate in the programme.”
When the Ambedkar University Dalit Students Union (AUDSU), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA-BBAU) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) sought permission from the institute to observe the day again on April 16, they were granted permission on short notice.
“According to the university’s code of conduct, the students should seek permission for any event 15 days in advance. However, we accepted their request on short notice keeping in mind their interest,” said the proctor, adding that initially, DJ was not permitted, but later, permission was given for that as well.
The proctor says that when the students approached him to seek permission for the shobha yatra, an altercation escalated into an attack where students allegedly started beating up the security guards and the latter retaliated in their defence. “Students initiated the violence first when they came to submit the letter seeking permission," the proctor says.
However, according to a joint statement issued by AUDSU, BAPSA-BBAU and SFI, four Dalit students were “brutally attacked by the guards of the university”.
Students claim that they were attacked by the personnel when they visited the proctor near the vice-chancellor's residence to express disagreement regarding Akhil Bharatiya Vidhya Parishad (ABVP) bringing a sound system inside the campus without any permission to celebrate Ram Navami, on April 17.
Now, what's this event all about?
Presence of ABVP
Proctor disclosed that followers of Lord Ram and several students celebrated Ram Navami in the varsity on April 17 in a peaceful manner.
Refusing to comment on the allegation of bringing speakers to the campus without permission, a member of ABVP’s cultural wing Rashtriya Kala Manch, Vertika Tiwari, claimed, “We organised a pooja near the temple behind the residential quarters of staff members and it was student-led.”It may be noted that the bringing of speakers without permission was the main bone of contention that the left student groups wanted to bring up with the proctor.
“We strongly oppose the statement issued by AUDSU, SFI and BAPSA. Whatever happened is wrong, unlawful and illegal. Therefore, we demand strong action from the administration,” she told EdexLive.
FIR lodged, students injured
In the statement issued by the SFI, AUDSU and BAPSA, the students claim that one student suffered head injuries and a false First Investigation Report (FIR) was lodged against the four Dalit students.
The affected students of the alleged attack have gathered at the VC residence today, April 19 at 4 pm demanding the “removal of the proctor and security in-charge from their administrative posts and registration of FIR under the SC/ST Act against the guard supervisor and guards who ordered the attack on the Dalit students”, the statement read.
