An illustration of a religious event at the Daulat Ram College in Delhi University and the invite for the event. Photos: Arranged by the author

By Tarushi Aswani

New Delhi: The Daulat Ram College (DRC) in Delhi University (DU) on Wednesday (January 22) organised a religious programme in the premises of the institute commemorating the first anniversary of consecration of Hindu deity Ram’s idol in the newly-constructed temple in Ayodhya. Labelled as “Shri Ramlalla Virajman ki Pranpatishtha ki Pratham Varshgaanth (first anniversary of the consecration of Shri Ramlalla Virajman)” – to many students the programme sounded like an event organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

DRC principal, Savita Roy, attended the programme along with Delhi chapter representatives of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as well as the BJP.

The invitation for the event which was widely circulated on social media. Photo: Arranged by the author

DRC students who spoke to The Wire said that despite poor attendance, the programme was part of a larger, ongoing effort to erode the institution’s pluralistic values, which used to be a “safe place”. A student from a minority community told The Wire that a particular teacher from the DRC who attended this programme, had in the past randomly questioned her knowledge of the Ramayana – this she suspects happened because she is one of the few hijab-wearing students in the college.

A Dalit student at the DRC, who saw the programme from a distance and said they had no interest in attending, added that it seemed that the staff at the DRC was finally, openly exhibiting its “upper-caste character”. 

“I was not surprised, the way the current staff treats minority community students and staff and the way they are trying to erase the original purpose of this women’s college, the programme only confirmed their attempts,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mahima Singh, the DRC secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), stated that the event helped students understand “traditional values and culture.” Speaking to The Wire, Singh very proudly shared that even in the DRC’s library, a special section dedicated to Hindu mythological books was inaugurated and titled as ‘Ramalaya’ on January 22.

This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.