By Matters India Reporter
Varanasi: Rightwing Hindu activists on February 27 disrupted a workshop on fake news at a leading university in Uttar Pradesh.
The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) had arranged the workshop on “Mainstream journalism in the age of Social Media” at 2 pm in Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi. Human rights activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad, CJP secretary, was scheduled to conduct it.
A CJP press release said they were forced to conduct the workshop elsewhere after police sided with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All India Students Council), who threatened against the program.
It was “yet another instance of gross intimidation,” the NGO lamented. It alleged that the students’ wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has gained notoriety with its bullying and strong arm tactics in various parts of the country.
The NGO also condemned the “obvious and overt efforts of the UP police to physically intimidate Setalvad” and students who wanted to hold the workshop. Only a handful of ABVP activists were present to oppose the workshop, it pointed out.
The CJP clarified that it had many days in advance received permission from the university to hold the workshop. The ABVP threat came only on February 26. Next morning, the university orally withdrew the permission.
The administration stationed “a huge posse of policemen,” giving the university a war zone look, the NGO lamented.
“All gates were locked. Students gathered from all around to attend. Barely four-to five ABVP activists stood with college administration and planned the attack. There were no women police officers present at the time of the attack.”
When Setalvad arrived, more policemen appeared suddenly and stopped her. She decided to walk nevertheless, as the students wanted her to garland a statue of Chandrashekhar Azad as it was his death anniversary. Policemen surrounded Setalvad and an inspector began beating and abusing the students.
The police then pushed everybody out amid sloganeering by ABVP activists.
Setalvad then spoke to the media after the police.
The workshop continued at another venue and students of Mass Communication and other social activists of Kashi Vidyapeeth attended it.
Setalavad had on February 26 released her autobiography “Samvidhan ki Sipahi” (Footsoldier of the Constitution).
Abhishek Mishra, district coordinator of ABVP in Varanasi and an RSS youth worker, labeled the book release as an anti-national activity and asked enemies of peace to go back.
In a post on Facebook, he alleged that after spreading ‘hate’ in various universities in the country, “anarchic” elements are trying to instigate the university, right under the nose of the administration. The post calls CJP a banned NGO.
Setalvad condemned the attack and bemoaned that “an august institution” like Kashi Vidyapeeth was succumbing to an ideology that killed Mahatma Gandhi, who had inaugurated it. Last week, another large university in the city, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), allowed the Gandhi killer’s glorification.
“A clear agenda is visible in both central and state universities where students, human rights defenders, those who speak for communal harmony and the Constitution are intimidated by violence and threat, whereas a violent fascist ideology is given sanction,” Setalvad alleged.