Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia tense as groups clash during Diwali festivities; videos of sloganeering surface

A ruckus broke out on the campus of the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi on Tuesday night during Diwali festivities, reported news agency PTI. The disturbance took place when two groups clashed and police was deployed outside the Jamia campus on Tuesday after a rangoli event held in occasion of Diwali.

A video of the incident shows a group of people purportedly chanting slogans in what appeared to be during Diwali celebrations on Jamia campus. In other clips on social media, some students claimed that a group of people chanted ‘Palestine Zindabad’ while disrupting Diwali celebrations.

HT independently could not verify the authenticity of the claims.

The incident took place during the annual Diwali celebration programme conducted by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wind of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The scuffle broke out after some people from a certain group allegedly ruined the rangolis prepared by students, triggering a clash with the two groups. The group also kicked off diyas with their feet, reported The Indian Express.

The incident reportedly took place inside Gate No. 7 of the university in Delhi.

“The incident occurred around 7:30-8 pm near gate 7. A group of students affiliated with the ABVP were putting up diyas and making rangolis for Diwali, which displeased another group of students. The other group wrecked the decorations, which led to a scuffle. Both sides engaged in sloganeering,” The Indian Express quoted deputy commissioner of police Southeast Ravi Kumar as saying.

The videos going viral on social media show people walking into the event with slogans, causing a physical altercation between the two groups. The ABVP said in an official statement the real cause of the incident is still being determined.

The situation was eventually controlled when security personnel stepped in. Police have been deployed outside the gates of Jamia Millia Islamia overnight and more details on the incident are awaited.