Hyderabad: ABVP cadre of University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday, August 15, vandalised a mural of the Palestinian flag created in solidarity with the Palestinian cause on the walls of the University near the School of Social Sciences.
The incident took place during the right wing student outfit’s Independence day rally at the UoH campus. They raised slogans alleging lack of patriotism towards India among the citizens who sympathise with the Palestinian cause.
Other student organisations at UoH have condemned the act, alleging the lack of ‘real Indian spirit’ missing from the nationalist students outfit. The students’ union of the University condemned the incident in their stating that it “highlights their (ABVP’s) ignorance of, and selective blindness toward the shared anti-imperialist history between India and Palestine.”
“This vandalism is not just an attack on a symbol; it is an attack on freedom of expression within our campus and the very idea of campus democracy,” the union added in their statement.
Activists of the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) at UoH, who had made the mural, reacted to the incident, calling it a blatant display of cowardice and ignorance. They questioned the pathetic mindset of the ABVP workers of destroying the symbol of another struggle for freedom and independence, thinking it elevates Indian nationalism.
“The red they (ABVP) painted over the flag is as tainted as the blood Israel spills on Palestinian soil,” said the SIO in a statement.
Another student organisation on the UoH campus, Muslim Students Federation (MSF), while condemning the act, quoted former Prime Minister and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “We do not accept that an aggressor should benefit from invasion. Therefore, the principles that apply to us must also apply to others,” stated MSF quoting Vajpayee.
“Unfortunately, expecting sanity from ABVP, a collective of mindless thuggery, is a mistake. However, one cannot help but sympathise with their ignorant tendency to be violent at anything related to Muslims,” read a statement by the MSF HCU unit.
Students Federation of India (SFI) UoH condemned the act of ABVP’s vandalism by reiterating its solidarity with the Palestinian people who are resisting the settler colonisation from Israel.
“The ABVP with its internalised Islamophobia is unable to see the anti-colonial nature of the struggle and is among the first to stand with the Israeli settlers in the oppression of the people of Palestine,” stated the SFI.
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