Following the Left Unity victory in the JNU Students' Union elections, ten students who chanted slogans at Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University have been suspended from the hostel. According to the administration, these students chanted "Sorry-sorry Savarkar, RSS's little monkey, run Narendra run Narendra," while the students said they chanted "Bal Narendra-Bal Narendra."
New Delhi: Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University is once again embroiled in controversy. Ten students have been suspended from the hostel for chanting derogatory slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. All of these students belong to Dalit and backward classes.
According to the university, these slogans “degraded the dignity of great men.”
The matter began when, following the defeat of the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) and the victory of the Left alliance in the JNU student union elections on November 6, some students of Wardha University protested on campus, chanting “Sorry, sorry Savarkar” and “Run Narendra.”
Chandan Saroj, a PhD student at the university and associated with the AISF (All India Students Federation), says, “The slogan ‘Sorry, sorry Savarkar’ proved unbearable for the ABVP, which believes in Savarkar’s principles.”
The very next day, the ABVP surrounded the university’s administrative building, alleging that a “great man” like Savarkar had been insulted.
On November 7, the administration issued show-cause notices to six students (Kaushal Kumar, Karanveer Singh, Brijesh Sonkar, Rakesh Ahirwar, Ashwini Sonkar, and Dhananjay Singh). These students included four Scheduled Caste (SC) and two Other Backward Class (OBC) students.
The notice states, “It has come to the notice of the university administration that on the night of November 6, 2025, you unauthorizedly and without informing the administration, gathered students in the university hostel premises, took out a procession, and raised slogans, including slogans derogatory to the dignity of great men. Your actions have affected the academic and peaceful environment of the university and created an atmosphere of unnecessary tension on the campus.”
The notice sought an explanation from these students within three days.
In a conversation with The Wire Hindi, Dhananjay, associated with the Congress student wing, NSUI, said, “We did not take out a procession. We were just out for a walk. There must have been ten or fifteen of us.” During this, we raised slogans like Inquilab Zindabad, Bhagat Singh Zindabad, Jai Bhim.’
In response to the notice, the students wrote to the Proctor on November 10, ‘With regard to the points mentioned by you, we wish to clarify that we have neither insulted any great man, nor raised any derogatory slogans, nor organised any gathering; the word ‘gathering’ is wrong because we were just a few people walking around.’
But the university administration was not satisfied with this response, and on November 11th, it suspended these six students, along with four others (Dharmendra Kumar, Manish Chaudhary, Satyendra Rai, and Abhijeet Kumar), from their hostel for 14 days. All ten students belong to Dalit and backward communities.
The order, issued by Proctor Rakesh Kumar Mishra, states, “These students will be completely prohibited from entering the hostel premises during the period of their suspension.”
Even before this order, the university administration had filed an NCR (non-cognizable report) against the six students at the Ramnagar police station on November 10th and demanded police action.
The report shows that on November 6th, the university’s Board of Proctors met and reviewed the CCTV footage. The report states, “In the video, some students were heard shouting slogans such as ‘Sorry-Sorry Savarkar, RSS’s little monkey, run Narendra-run Narendra.'” The university has told the police that the students had “insulted and damaged the reputation” of “respectable individuals” by raising slogans against them. However, the suspended students told The Wire Hindi that they did not shout “Bhaag Narendra, Bhaag Narendra,” but “Bal Narendra, Bal Narendra.”
To hear ABVP’s side, we contacted Vedika Mishra, the organization’s university unit secretary, but she declined to comment.
Speaking to The Wire Hindi, the university’s Registrar, Kader Nawaz Khan, said, “We had to go to the police. The students forced us to. Look at the language of the slogans. Secondly, by shouting slogans until midnight, they spoiled the atmosphere of the hostel. They had not obtained any permission to hold such a rally. An attempt is being made to spoil the atmosphere here.” This action has been taken to stop this very thing.’
When asked whether the slogan ‘Sorry, Sorry Savarkar’ was sufficient for such action, the Registrar said, ‘You must have read the slogan that followed it.’
Does the university administration have any objection to ‘Bhaag Narendra, Bhaag Narendra’? On this issue, the Registrar said, ‘It’s not a matter of liking it or not. It’s a matter of spoiling the academic environment of the university.’
Chandan Saroj says, ‘A repressive atmosphere has developed in the university where no slogan other than ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is tolerated. If a student chants “Jai Bhim,” “Lal Salaam,” or “Jai Samvidhan,” they immediately become the target of the administration.
He further adds, “The RSS holds regular shakhas on the Wardha University campus.”
While the Registrar claims, “No student organization, regardless of its ideology, can hold rallies, processions, etc. without permission.”
When asked whether the RSS holds shakhas on the university campus, the Registrar said, “I will have to verify. I will have to check the records.” When we asked if the university administration was unaware of the RSS shakhas being held on campus, the Registrar said, “I am not saying that… I am not saying whether (the administration) is aware or not. I will have to check the records.”
Students explained that the university is located near Nagpur, and the Sangh Parivar’s ideology is dominant in this area. As a result, many students are facing pressure and action.
Courtesy: Hindi News