DU divided over teacher accused of naxal contact

Eminent personalities like Arundhati Roy, Prashant Bhusan and Udit Raj actively participated in a public meeting organised by teachers from Delhi University, at the Faculy of Arts lawns, to condemn the police raid at the residence of a Delhi University teacher.  

This sparked off a protest by members of the Aakhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) against these eminent personalities, with the members raising slogans against them. The protests led to the arrest of Aman Awana, DUSU president, and other ABVP activists. 

A section of teachers and students flocked outside the Faculty of Arts lawns for a meeting, which was addressed by writers and activists, including Arundhati Roy. However, once ABVP activists found out about meeting, they started protests against the programme and demanded that the likes of Arundhati Roy should leave. ABVP activists also raised anti-Arundhati slogans. Taking stock of the situation, 500 police personnel were deployed at the campus.  

On 12 September a team of Maharashtra police, accompanied by Delhi police personnel raided the house of G N Saibaba, for alleged links with Naxals. Arundhati Roy expressed concern over the raid and said that the government has adopted repressive measures to silence the people. ‘We know how the tribal woman, Soni Sori was sexually assaulted and the accused police officials were given gallantry awards’, she said.  

She went on to say, ‘In India the army has killed more of its own civilians than in neighbouring Pakistan, where a strong military grip exists over its government.’ ‘Now when the police pick up some people for links with Naxals, the accused are made to write that they were influenced by Arundhati’s writing to become Naxals’, she added. Aman Awana, ABVP cadre and newly-elected DUSU president, said that Saibaba has Naxal links and it should be exposed. ‘Arundhati Roy should go back and not support any anti-national person’, he said. 

Rohit Chahal, ABVP’s Delhi state secretary said, ‘We will not tolerate any anti-national activity, including promotion of Naxalism and separatism, in DU campus. In today’s peaceful protest of the ABVP, the attitude of the Delhi police was highly deplorable. As soon as we started raising slogans, the police arrested around 40 to 50 of our activists (including DUSU president and DUSU joint secretary) and took them to the Civil Lines police station where they were detained for more than four hours. It is highly condemnable that we were not allowed to protest peacefully, while Naxal supporters gave anti-national speeches and raised anti-national slogans but the police stood there to protect them.’

Meanwhile, Prashant Bhushan, an eminent lawyer, who supported Saibaba, said, ‘The nexus between the government and big companies have created Naxalites. Now Saibaba has been told that he would be questioned somewhere outside Delhi. We must contest it.’