Jhagde ki paathshala

Gangwar, violence, bloodshed and politics. You definitely cannot ignore it -the campus rivalries in DU.

It has all the elements of a Bollywood masala film. Gangwar, violence, bloodshed and politics. You may or may not be a part of it, but you definitely cannot ignore it -the campus rivalries in DU. Jaats against Biharis, Biharis against North Easterners, a handful against another group and you have the perfect plot for a potboiler.

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Trivial, my foot
They beat each other up for the most frivolous reasons, at times there is no reason. It could range from one calling the other a saala giving a bath soap to a member of a rival gang in the hostel or being seen with the other gang. An NSUI backed Jat group member can get you to break up with your girlfriend if he has his eyes on her And if you aren't scared of these guys, they are not worried because it just takes Rs 100-200 to bring more of them from Rajasthan or nearby states.

Visit the campus during election time to learn more. Ramjas College, the hub of such activities, has the Jaats (mostly includes guys from Haryana and border areas of UP), the Biharis (the group also includes people from UP and West Bengal) and even a different faction of Jaats who come from Rai Sports School in Sonepat and have different priorities (they support ABVP). The most famous and commonly used lingo is Badla meaning to extract revenge for anything and everything and a reason to phodo or phado anyone.

Taking potshots
They occupy the main road that connects the canteen to the college gate or simply take a break in the canteen. You can also spot them outside the DUSU office. They have fixed areas, one group sits towards the right side while the other towards the left. Then they take potshots. Abbey oye, chaurahe pe milna, "ladki saath mein hai tozyaada ban raha hai' "bhai aaj to haath garam karne ka mann hai".

The North Eastern lobby does not think high of the Biharis and their support goes to the Jaats so you can often spot the two groups together A second year English (Hons) student says, "Each group has its own fixed place and people don't wander there. It's known as their place."

In danger
Desh Ratna, who was a member of the Bihari gang in his days, remembers the fateful night of December 22, 2005. The post of the President was occupied by a Jat and the Jat gang had planned that after the fest they would beat up all Biharis. A fight ensued later where ammunition included rods, hockey sticks, chains and broken poles.

Result: 11 landed in Tihar jail on that night, were produced in court on December 23, released on December 30 and celebration on December 31. "Our Bihari gang is popularly known as Purvanchal Purvaiyya. There used to be late night fights and whenver something like this used to happen, an informer was supposed to come and hit the pole in front of the hostel with a hard object. It signaled 'Biharis in danger' and at this moment no matter what condition one was in he had to come out to fight," says Ratna.

Gossip mongers

A student of Hindu college hostel tells us that the North Eastern gang take centrestage during elections as they make for strong votebanks. The groups occasionally gather on the roof of the mess and shout at each other The face-off more often than not turns violent. "There are nearly 210 people in the hostel and people are free to join any gang. There is a lot of gossiping and lose talk that takes during these meetings," he adds.