Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), long a hotbed of ideological battles, plunged into darkness and disorder late Monday. ABVP leaders leveled explosive charges against 400-plus Left supporters, predominantly outsiders, for a savage midnight raid involving stones, rods, and mob tactics. At least 12-14 students now battle injuries at Safdarjung Hospital.
Vijay Jaiswal, JNU’s media coordinator, painted a vivid picture of the 3 a.m. onslaught. Left protesters, amid their ongoing anti-restriction campaign, marched aggressively from Sabarmati T-Point to the VC gate. Their true intent surfaced in the school area: a pre-orchestrated ambush on ABVP members, complete with masked attackers swinging rods in lynch-mob style.
‘Numbers favored them—400 strong, but few were actual students,’ Jaiswal noted, pointing to video evidence of external agitators. The campus echoed with clashes, shattering its intellectual veneer.
Prateek Bhardwaj’s survival story chills the spine. Lost in panic, he sought refuge in a bathroom, bolting the door. A relentless 150-member gang pounded it relentlessly, breaching with a hole to pump in fire extinguisher haze. JNU guards extracted him after tense police standoffs, rushing him to care.
ABVP Vice President Manish Chaudhary decried the rule-breaking protest—no 48-hour heads-up for the demonstration or VC siege. Isolated without peer backing, the group locked gates, intimidated others, and hurled stones in a bid to manufacture sympathy. ‘Victimhood was their ploy,’ he asserted.
This flare-up demands introspection: How did JNU’s vibrant discourse devolve into brutality? Swift action against infiltrators and dialogue revival could heal divides, ensuring the campus thrives as a democracy’s crucible rather than a combat zone.