HYDERABAD: Mild tension prevailed in the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday as students belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) screened The Kashmir Files and the banned BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots, separately, on the campus.
ABVP students staged a protest outside the campus’ main gate alleging that the college security personnel were not letting students inside. ABVP central working committee member Sharavan B Raj said, “Hindrances were created on the instructions of the university Vice-Chancellor. Due to this, the screening of The Kashmir Files, which depicts the exodus of Kashmiri migrants in the 1990s, was delayed for an hour.”
The recent screening of India: The Modi Question, the outlawed documentary, in the Velivada block of the campus had given rise to conflict between the two student groups. In response, the ABVP had given a call to screen the Anupam Kher-starrer.
The north complex, which was the proposed venue for the screening of both movies, was abuzz with a mix of excitement and tension in the run-up to the shows. Before the screening, SFI activists led a rally from the North Hostel block to the shopping complex in the block to uphold the ideals of the Indian Constitution on the occasion of Republic Day.However, they later informed visitors of a change in the venue of the screening.
Later in the day, UoH Registrar Dr Devesh Nigam issued a statement saying that the Dean of Students’ Welfare had counselled the student groups and appealed to them not to screen any of the movies to maintain law and order. Nigam said peace and tranquillity was needed as end-semester exams were starting next week.
While he said that the administration has learnt that only one of the groups staged a screening in one of the hostels, sources said both, the banned documentary and The Kashmir Files, were screened. No clashes or instances of vandalism were recorded.
“There was no disturbance in the environment of the campus, there were only peaceful protests and screenings. No material, which are used for the screening of movies, was seized. Security forces were deployed only to bring the situation under control in cases of violent acts or hindrances,” said police officials refuting claims of ABVP activists that force was used.