Screening of Ekta Kapoor’s film ‘The Sabarmati Report’, based on the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra that led to the 2002 Gujarat riots by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was disrupted on Thursday. evening due to alleged stone pelting by unidentified persons, officials said. However, Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said that there was no violence in the campus and said that she had visited the spot and everything was peaceful.
According to officials, the security guards were alerted immediately, from the direction of the nearby Sabarmati Hostel, where screening was allegedly taking place at the Sabarmati Badminton Court. “It is said that some stones were thrown from the Sabarmati hostel towards the badminton court where the program was being held. The guards were informed about the situation, and it is now under control,” an official source told The Indian Express. The standoff took place around 6:45 pm, the official added.
“There were some unknown persons who pelted small and big stones three times from the Sabarmati hostel at the people watching the screening. We have informed the authorities, the screening is going on peacefully, and the situation is under control,” ABVP JNU secretary Shikha Swaraj told The Indian Express. ‘The Sabarmati Report’ On February 27, 2002, 59 people died, including 27 women and 10 children, returning from a function in Ayodhya. It is based on the Sabarmati Express fire.
Condemning the incident and calling it “cowardly and despicable”, the ABVP accused “anti-India, anti-Hindu forces” of orchestrating the attack to stifle debate and stifle dissent. “This barbaric act is an attack not only on a group of individuals but on the freedom of expression, dialogue and democratic values that this university is known for,” it said in an official statement.
Another ABVP member blamed Left-affiliated student groups for the incident.
However, JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Dhananjay rubbished the allegations and claimed that the ABVP itself was creating unnecessary controversy. “No one goes to the program organized by ABVP. They are not popular in the campus. The film they screened flopped, the propaganda they spread has also flopped today,” he said. “It is clear that they create issues and baselessly blame the Left. We do not support the screening of biased content. JNU is a prestigious institution that imparts education to the poor and underprivileged of this country,” he added.
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