Bura na mano holi hai (It's all fine, it's Holi) — this popular Holi tagline has been misused for way too long. It has been used as an excuse to throw semen-filled balloons at students on the Delhi University campus. This year wasn't an exception, but on the bright side, a lot of students narrated their experiences of being attacked, which eventually grabbed social media attention. However, the menace is not confined to the bad experiences — Delhi University authorities have gone to the extent of advising the girls to stay inside the hostels to avoid being attacked.
Kumari Khushboo, who is the warden at International Students House for Women in Delhi University's North Campus believes that that is the only way to keep the girls safe. "I know that takes away their freedom but we speak to the girls every year before Holi to make them understand that it is for their own safety. The attacks have been taking place for so many years and asking the girls to stay in a hostel is just a way to decrease the number of such incidents," she says.
The advice comes with a set of other instructions as well, which includes not allowing any outsider inside the hostel premises and restricting the girls from playing Holi.
The concern can be natural because a number of young girls living in student-friendly areas like areas like Vijay Nagar, GTB Nagar and North Campus Road region suffer through absolutely horrifying incidents during Holi almost every year. However, students do feel the pinch of not being able to get out or celebrate the festival. Ekta Shaikh, who is pursuing MA on the campus, is one of them. "We have to sit inside the hostels till the festival is over. I know it is for our own security but it isn't fair. Our safety should be guaranteed by the police. Is that too much to ask for?" she questions.
The incidents came to light when a few students from Lady Shri Ram College reported the incident, only to open a pandora's box of such incidents. Since then, quite a few female students have opened about their experiences in a hope that it will press the authorities to take stern actions.
