Hindutva Group Clashes with Police During Protest at Kolkata Film Institute Amid Ongoing Tensions

A violent confrontation unfolded at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata on Sunday, as members of the Hindutva organization, Bangiyo Hindu Jagaran Manch, marched towards the campus. The protest was triggered by allegations that students disrespected the images of revered figures such as Swami Vivekananda and Bharat Mata. Eyewitness accounts suggest that the demonstrators breached police barricades and hurled stones onto the campus, leading to clashes with law enforcement.

The backdrop to this incident is the unrest that erupted at SRFTI a week prior, when a confrontation between students and participants of an event organized by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated consumer group, Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, turned violent. Reports indicate that at least six students sustained injuries during that altercation, with one victim reportedly struck on the head and another assaulted with a knife. These events have heightened fears over the growing polarization of educational institutions in the country.

Rohit Shaw, a spokesperson for Bangiyo Hindu Jagaran Manch, articulated the group’s grievances, asserting that the students’ actions on September 27 warranted their demonstration. According to Shaw, the protest was a necessary response to the perceived disrespect shown towards national symbols. Meanwhile, students at the institute have voiced concerns over being labeled as anti-national and faced aggression based on their opposition to the event, which they believed was being used to propagate the RSS’s ideological agenda.

In a statement to Deutsche Welle, Poorvi Bondre, a student union member, described the hostile environment fostered during the event, recounting that students who challenged the participants were met with accusations of being anti-national and were violently attacked. Bondre emphasized that the situation reflects a broader trend of politicization within educational spaces, raising alarms about freedom of expression and student rights in Indian academia.

The incidents at SRFTI are indicative of a larger cultural conflict in India, where ideological battles often spill over into physical confrontations. As the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological progenitor, the RSS continues to exert considerable influence, the tension between traditional academic freedom and rising nationalist sentiments seems poised to escalate further.

Source: scroll.in