Delhi Police deployed heavy security outside Jamia Millia Islamia University after scores of students staged a protest against an event allegedly linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on campus.
Police personnel were stationed at key entry points as protesters, led by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), gathered in large numbers, raising slogans and demanding the cancellation of the event. They argued that hosting such a programme at a central university was inappropriate.
According to reports, the event, part of the ‘Yuva Kumbh’ marking 100 years of the RSS, is being organised within the university’s engineering department. The university authorities have not yet issued an official response.
The SFI called the permission for the event a “direct provocation,” raising concerns over the safety and dignity of minority students. The student body also demanded the immediate withdrawal of permission for the programme.
“SFI JMI Unit strongly and unequivocally condemns the administration for permitting and facilitating the RSS-affiliated organisation Yuva to hold a programme on our campus to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the RSS, which is happening on 28th April,” the organisation said in a statement on Monday.
According to Yuva Kumbh’s official social media page, the event is intended to “unite youth to learn, lead and serve, celebrating 100 years of nation-first thought and RSS’s century of service.”
Atikur Rehman, a JMI student and SFI member, told PTI that similar events have been held at Delhi University colleges to mark 100 years of the RSS, sparking protests in those campuses as well.