MAYHEM

Students, Teachers Injured in Bloody Clashes at New Delhi University

Local media reported that roughly 20 to 30 people were injured after violent attacks broke out between student groups.

Several students and teachers were injured after violence broke out at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) between rival student factions, according to Al Jazeera. Witnesses told local news channels that the clashes began after a public meeting that was organized by the JNU Teachers Association, which is responsible for a spike in hostel charges for students that was recently announced. Local media reported that 20 to 30 people were injured in the attacks, which involved brandishing rods and sticks, stone-pelting, and vandalizing property by people who reportedly wore masks. 

The left-wing JNU Students Union said that the university’s president, Aishe Ghosh, and several other students were among those injured in the attacks and blamed members of the right-wing students’ group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). ABVP is linked to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which is India’s governing party. India is entering its fourth week of nationwide protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP over a controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill that would exclude Muslims from citizenship. Opponents of the bill, including university students, have increasingly been the target of violence, with police beating unarmed students with wooden poles during a recent New Delhi protest.