Clash erupts in Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia during ‘Diwali celebrations’

Tensions flared at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi on Tuesday night, 22 October, as a clash broke out between two student groups during 'Diwali' festivities, leading to police deployment outside the campus.

The altercation reportedly took place near Gate No. 7 during a rangoli–making event organised as part of 'Diwali celebrations' organised by the YUVA student group, associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to police and eyewitness accounts, the incident unfolded around 7:30–8:.00 p.m. on Tuesday, during an event that involved decorating the campus with rangolis and lighting diyas.

The scuffle is believed to have been triggered when members of a second group allegedly destroyed the rangolis and kicked over the diyas. This provoked a physical altercation between the two groups, with both sides engaging in aggressive sloganeering.

However, the local SFI unit alleges the second group was actually first provoked by the ABVP's communal sloganeering and misbehaviour with female students, leading to provocative slogans from both sides. The SFI also claims that the ABVP 'students' included outsiders on campus.

Unverified videos circulating on social media do show controversial slogans being chanted. However, versions of the sequence of events differ across statements from various sides.

The second group of students claim the ABVP group heckled women and directed 'Jai Shri Ram' as a taunt at Muslim students, per a Maktoob Media report. The report also claims that besides the SFI, the NSUI and Fraternity Movement student groups condemned the right-wing group's actions, alleging they were working to disrupt communal harmony on the campus.

The Students' Federation of Dravidians has also spoken up in support, with a post on X from national convenor Elaiya A.R.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police (Southeast) Ravi Kumar claimed the root was rather more trivial — merely a question of aesthetics! In a statement to the Indian Express, confirmed the incident and said, "The disturbance occurred near Gate No. 7 during a Diwali event organised by ABVP members. After a disagreement over the decorations, a scuffle broke out, and both sides began shouting slogans."

The situation was eventually brought under control when campus security and police intervened. Police have since been deployed outside Jamia’s gates to prevent further violence. Further updates on the incident are expected as more details emerge.

The ABVP, meanwhile, said in an official statement that it is still investigating the cause of the clash and condemned the disruption of the Diwali celebrations. No serious injuries have been reported so far, and authorities are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

The ABVP issued a statement in Hindi regarding the incident, stating: "On Tuesday evening, during the Deepotsav programme at Jamia Milia Islamia, students were peacefully chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as the celebrations continued. Around 8 p.m., outsiders, religious fanatics and anti-social elements arrived at the venue, vandalised the lamps, erased the rangoli, and attacked the Jamia students participating in the festivities."

The YUVA student group has since put out a letter objecting to slogans of 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Palestine Zindabad' being raised on campus. It was not immediately clear from their statement why either of these slogans were deemed aggressive or divisive, unless it was a matter of the identity of those chanting them.

The Student Federation of India (SFI) also released a statement, claiming that the incident was "an attack on university students by outsiders invited by the administration". According to the SFI, these outsiders were deliberately brought in "to incite communal tension on campus". The statement further accused ABVP members and their "gang of local goons" of shouting communal slogans.

"When some university students objected to their behavior, the outsiders, led by their state leaders, resorted to violence," the SFI alleged. They also claimed that police intervened with a lathi charge, injuring and intimidating many students, while the actual perpetrators were shielded from consequences.

There were also students who pointed to the presence of Delhi University ABVP candidate Bhanu Pratap Singh amongst the group 'celebrating Diwali'. Certainly, Singh is not a Jamia Millia alumnus or student.

In a similar incident in May this year, clash erupted between the two groups, during which three people were injured. The May altercation reportedly began over a minor issue, when a student placed a plate outside another student's hostel room, quickly spiralling into a larger confrontation.