DU college scraps journal carrying article on Ramjas incident

The journalism students of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) have alleged that the college authorities cancelled the printing of their journal, which carried an article on the Ramjas College violence.

The journalism students of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) have alleged that the college authorities cancelled the printing of their journal, which carried an article on the Ramjas College violence.

Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) students alleged that they were not allowed to publish the journal as the article was critical of the ABVP’s role in the Ramjas violence on February 22.(Raj K Raj/HT FILE PHOTO)

The students alleged that they were not allowed to publish the journal as the article was critical of the ABVP’s role in the Ramjas violence on February 22.

This journal called “Critique” was to be released by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy at an event scheduled for Thursday. The event was cancelled on Wednesday.

Swamy was to speak at the department fest on the topic ‘Journalism on Trial’.

However the DCAC principal Rajiv Chopra said that the step had to be taken, as he had not reviewed the journal.

“Being the editor-in-chief of the journal, I have to review it before it is published. But students came in the morning and said they have to publish it the next day. They were not ready to wait. This is the only problem. It has nothing to do with Ramjas article,” said Chopra.

On Thursday, the students published another journal with the same article and called it “Yatarth”. The publishing of the journal was funded with contribution from alumni.

“The principal told us that the article critical of ABVP’s involvement in the clashes at Ramjas College cannot be published as the issue was sensational. When we refused to remove the article or modify it, we were told that the edition has been scrapped,” said Sadhika, the editor of the journal.

The violence had begun outside Ramjas College after a literary event where JNU scholar Umar Khalid was invited had to be cancelled on February 21.

The cancellation led to clashed between student groups, which left several students and teachers injured. This incident had again brought back the debate on nationalism into limelight.