Tensions ran high at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Wednesday evening as a General Body Meeting (GBM) at the School of Social Sciences descended into chaos. Members of the Left-affiliated student groups and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) clashed, each side accusing the other of violence and provocation.
According to reports, several students were injured in the scuffle, including women. The incident has once again placed JNU in the spotlight for campus unrest and political confrontation.
Left groups, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA), alleged that ABVP members turned the meeting violent, disrupting proceedings and attacking students. They claimed that ABVP activists heckled councillors, snatched mobile phones, and physically assaulted participants—one woman student was reportedly grabbed by the throat. Several injured students are said to be receiving treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
The ABVP, however, presented a starkly different version. In its statement, the organization accused a Left-affiliated councillor of making “deeply discriminatory and insulting remarks” against students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, allegedly saying that such students—and ABVP members—“did not belong in JNU” and should be “thrown out of the auditorium.” The ABVP claims that their members protested peacefully, but were then attacked by Left activists.
The group called the assault on women students “shameful and unacceptable,” describing it as an attack on JNU’s democratic and intellectual values.
Reacting to the incident, JNU Students’ Union Joint Secretary Vaibhav Meena condemned the violence, saying, “Differences in opinion are natural in a university, but responding to disagreement with violence or regional hatred goes against the spirit of democracy. Every student, whether from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or anywhere else, deserves equal respect.”
The university administration has also criticized the violence and is expected to review the matter internally. A team of Delhi Police is present at the spot and is trying to talk to the students to resolve the issue.
