Political graffiti is back on Jadavpur University’s whitewashed walls

The Students Federation of India (SFI) Jadavpur unit announced its “Reclaim Your Wall” programme in a social media post on Sunday evening

Jadavpur University (JU) students belonging to Left unions repainted political graffiti across the campus on Monday, claiming the same walls that the authorities covered with white paint a day earlier following chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s announcement that his government will not allow JU to remain a free ground for Maoist sympathisers.

“Members of the CPI(M)’s student front did not hold any demonstration on Monday. Instead, its members picked up cans of aerosol paint and brushes,” said a JU professor. (HT photo)

The Students Federation of India (SFI) Jadavpur unit announced its “Reclaim Your Wall” programme in a social media post on Sunday evening, hours after a contractor deployed by the university’s maintenance department painted over the old graffiti.

“Members of the CPI(M)’s student front did not hold any demonstration on Monday. Instead, its members picked up cans of aerosol paint and brushes. Members of the other Left student unions also took part,” a JU professor said, requesting anonymity.

The incident happened after a JU emblem installed on one of the gates was damaged on August 20 when members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), allegedly tried to enter the campus following a clash between its members and supporters of Left student unions the earlier night. The university lodged a police complaint but no arrests have been made yet.

The damage to the logo, which was designed by iconic painter Nandalal Bose, who drew the sketches for the first copy of the Indian Constitution, drew flak from the civil society. State finance minister Swapan Dasgupta said in a video statement that the incident was uncalled for.

On Friday, CM Adhikari addressed a large crowd outside the JU campus while attending a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-held mass singing of the national song, Vande Mataram on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

“You don’t express grief or hold rallies when 45 CRPF jawans are killed by terrorists in Awantipora and tourists belonging to a specific religion are gunned down at Pahalgam. But anti-war rallies are held when Operation Sindoor is carried out against Pakistan,” Adhikari said at the rally.

“I know the disease. I also know the medicine,” he said.

No political party made a statement after the graffiti returned to the JU campus.