Main gate of the Banaras Hindu University

On the 24th of January, three female students of the Banaras Hindu University’s Hindi department were passed on lewd-comments by the boys of Birla-A hostel while going to their class in the afternoon. These female students, Shweta Sharma, Aastha Singh, Charvi Shandilya of the Faculty of Arts, were passing by the road adjacent to the hostel when this incident happened.

When protested against sexist comments, girls faced more comments and sexual gestures from the boys. Sujeet Singh ‘Major’, one of the prime accused, told these girls not to pass from their ‘area’. The three female students, called Prof. DGA Khan, a former member of the Proctorial Board, who in-turn sent two security guards. Seeing all this, around 50 of the male-students came out of their hostel and surrounded these women while abusing them and giving them abduction threats. Boys also justified their acts by telling these girls to not to wear jeans. Ramagya Rai, a warden of Birla-C when came to resolve the case was abused by the boys when he raised the question of ethics and morality. Chief-Proctor and a Professor of Sociology, A K Joshi, came later only to tell these girls to go to college and Rai to keep quiet and not to interfere in matters involving a student of another hostel.

Unmoved, girls went to their department and protested against this incident. Meanwhile, female students of other departments in the faculty came to know about it and reached to the Hindi department to express solidarity. The Chief-Proctor Joshi arrived with security guards only to tell them to not to make this an issue.

Stunned by the treatment as the second sex, these girls decided to march to the Vice-Chancellor Dr Lalji Singh’s official residence to meet him. Proctor and police barricaded road to the VC’s residence. Shweta Sharma, one of the victims, recalls “It was entirely girls march. Groups of male supporters were with us, but they were keeping some distance, perhaps to not to upset their hostel-mates.” Around 150 girls broke-barricades and were lathi-charged upon whereas boys stood bit-far and saw girls being lathi-charged. They came at last to sit with girls in front of the main-gate of VC’s residence. Meanwhile, around 50 residents of Birla-A hostel arrived in the leadership of Mrityunjay Singh Rathour, Shekhar Singh, Sujeet Singh ‘Major’ and shouted slogans against these protesters. Aakriti Pandey, a student-activist of All India Students Association (AISA), says they had objections to slogans like “Patriarchy-down-down”. VC initially refused to talk to girls but when they refused to move, he relented to speak with representatives. The representatives demanded establishment of Women’s cell with adequate representation of girls students, 24 hours dedicated help line for girls, strict action against the culprits and posting of security guards on the campus so that girls can move freely.

In his Republic Day speech, Vice-Chancellor declared setting up of a women’s cell (without mentioning its structure, students representation and powers), dedicated round the clock helpline and strict action against stalkers but refused to give any time-frame for these. Joshi, while calling this stalking as a one-off incident, blames the three girls students to use that road and political groups like AISA and Bhagat Singh Chhatra Sena (BSCS) to make this an issue. He further says that proctorial board has issued a circular to the warden to provide them with the list of illegal students in their hostels. It is ironic that even after 15 years of Supreme Court’s Vishakha judgement, which laid down guidelines to deal with sexual harassment at work places, this central university didn’t have a grievance redressal body. In fact, both VC’s office and Chief-Procter Joshi couldn’t provide data on sexual harassment cases in university. On 29th, University administration issued circular on the formation of one member women’s cell and women’s helpline 8004922000.

Meanwhile, whatever little support girl’s protestors received from the teachers of Hindi department that day has waned. One of the victims says we were told that we committed a mistake by raking up this issue. Teachers of other departments haven’t issued any statement on the press or publicly. Other girl students who staged dharna with these three girls are terrified of backlash from the criminal elements inside and outside hostels and are avoiding being visible with them. Sympathisers of the girl who lives in Birla hostel tell that accused and his friends vowed to throw acid on the faces of these three girls.

History:

It is not the first time that the girl in BHU faced sexist-remarks. BHU has always been the bastion of patriarchy and communalism. In fact, this is the first time in university’s recent history when women protested. After Delhi gang-rape incident AISA activists from Kashi Vidyapeeth and BHU took out a protest march against Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks outside the campus. Anand Pradhan, a faculty at IIMC and former student of BHU, says “till 1975 university had RSS office inside.” Though the office is now shifted just outside the campus, RSS still starts its Vijyadashmi procession from the university campus. Students take part in large numbers. Pradhan further adds, The geographical location of the university is also responsible for the prevailing culture. The majority of the students come from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who brings feudal values with them. Pradhan adds, “Being grown-up in the feudal environment these students can’t accept girl excelling in the university. The immobility and ghettoisation also worsen this situation.” The university still has different colleges for the men and girl of undergraduate-students of Arts and Social Sciences. This distance leads them to think girl not one among them. Abhishek Srivastava, a former student and former editor of Samayantar magazine recall the time in the 1990s when several girls were abducted by the residents of Birla hostel and kept inside for months.

Among male students, the Hanuman temple near Sir Sundarlal Hospital is called “Majnu Hanuman” as it is one of the few places in the university where singles look for girls likewise Gandhi Mahila Chhatrawas is called “Gamchha” or Mahila Mahavidyalaya square is called “Piya Milan Chouraha” or “PMC”. This writer remembers during his stay in the university 2005-09 the security guards had no objection when a couple have coffee in the Nescafe outlet, but they objected, abused couples and often canned on legs and back when couple visit the adjacent Madhuban lawns or go for a walk in the campus. Couples who try to spend some extra time in lawns of Vishwanath Temple also faced harassment. A lot of occasions devotees who visited temple faced this harassment. Ritesh Vidyarthi, a student of MA Political Science, says harassment by security forces by the guards has reduced considerably now due to increased political activities by students. The library opens till 9’o clock, but gates of women’s hostel close at 8. During BHU’s annual fest Spandan in 2009, this writer saw male students throwing inflated condoms, chairs and trying to enter inside women’s gallery by breaking barricades. The security guards mildly used force to control men and told girls to go to their respective hostels. Shweta, says this still happens.

Police canning unruly male students in Spandan 2009

Women are not the only one who is targeted, students belonging to SC, ST and Muslim religion often look down-upon by the fellow students. In fact, when Khan was the warden of Acharya Narendra Dev hostel, he was often abused by the students during his hostel visits. Khan also faced acrimony from his colleagues. Coming from feudal backgrounds, students touch teacher’s feet to greet. A well-travelled professor who heads a centre on development confessed in class that he initially felt bad when his research-scholar didn’t touch his feet after returning from the US. In 2008-09, when the reservation debate was at its peak proctorial board brutally beat reservation supporters while kid-gloved doctors who were taking out anti-reservation rally.

The proctorial board and the teaching community often favour students from their caste and locality. This is the reason behind criminalisation of the campus and problem of illegal residents inside hostels. Shekhar, one of the accused, in this case, was rusticated five years ago but still lives in the hostel illegally. In 2011, Shekhar and Mrityunjay, beat a girl and her male friend when they objected to the stalking and eve-teasing. A few months ago on October 7, 2012, after a minor altercation between university students and outsiders in a NCC camp, both Shekhar and Mrityunjay along with other hostel-mates beat non-university cadets. This was followed by a lathi-charge in Birla-C.

Once united, Birla A, B and C hostels are currently inhabited by 1200 students and together are the biggest residential hostel in Asia. It was trifurcated because of massive criminalisation and better administration needs. The partition may have created three hostels, but the hostels are emotionally united because it’s lived by the students of Faculty of Arts, combined with the criminal past and dominance of the once united hostel in earlier times. After lathi-charge in Birla C, students of Birla-A in the leadership of Mrityunjay and Shekhar Singh set motorbikes on fire of media persons and Atul Tripathi, warden of Birla-B, as he was trying to pacify students. Mrityunjay also threw petrol on Tripathi.

Despite serious cases like this Shekhar and Mrityunjay were never dealt with strong fists due to their proximity to Om Prakash Singh, Samajwadi Party leader and minister of Land Development and Water Management in the Akhilesh Yadav government. Singh himself faces criminal cases like attempt to murder, loot, arson, cheating pending against him. Mrityunjay is also Samajwadi Party’s presidential candidate for the BHU Students Union for the next year’s elections. Likewise the SHO of Lanka Police Station, under which BHU falls, is one of the most sought-after post in the city and is always filled by an officer close to state government’s heart. Joshi, when asked about Mrityunjay and Shekhar says “we are considering strict actions against culprits. If need arises we will transfer the case to Lanka police station.” Interestingly Joshi is critical about Rai and tells that we will take strong actions against him for provoking the three women students.  The Vice-Chancellors don’t take suo-moto actions in these situations as they are political appointees. VC was unavailable for comments as he was on three-day leave. Even though, university administration issued circular after two days of VC’s announcement, it clamped down heavily on the march called by BSKS and AISA to protest and create awareness in the campus about harassment. The protesters were arrested by the city police, when asked Awadhesh Kumar Singh, SHO, Lanka Police Station, said, “AISA and BSKS were playing politics over a non-issue and disturbing university’s peaceful environment. They must understand that hooting, catcalling is not harassment.”

Historically, the campus has always been dominated by the ABVP, NSUI. In the 1970s, because of Jai Prakash Narayan’s movement, socialist parties established a foothold inside the campus. But, in the 1980s due to the wave of communalism, the criminalisation increased. Shrivastava calls this “the after-effects of the derailment of student’s politics”. Pradhan recalls that in early 1990s progressive forces were on the way to power, but the wave of communalism again pushed it to the back. After sine-die and dissolution of the students union in 1997-98, all the political activities especially of left were banned and cracked-down heavily on the campus. The campus still has a barrack of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). Today, the only People’s Publishing House bookshop in the campus sells t-shirts, mugs with BHU, hostel’s name imprinted to survive.

In 2007, after the recommendations of the Lyngdoh committee and student’s protests university administration established students’ council, a largely toothless body which was composed of the students achieving high marks. In 2011, limited democracy was allowed. BHU student’s movement for students union became more vocal after various courts lifted the ban on such elections in JNU, AMU and Allahabad University. After agitations in 2012 for students union, the university banned council’s elections and filled these seats by faculty members. Allahabad high-court rejected this step and directed for elections when two students filed a case against this.

The present VCs term will coincide with the university’s centenary celebrations. Pandit Madanmohan Malviya’s dream of “…creating an ideal scheme of education which would serve the cause of nation-building, rise above narrow sectarian interests, combine the best in western scientific methods with all that is good and great in our culture and promote a broad liberation of mind and religious spirit…” will never be achieved if administration doesn’t take corrective measures seriously.

E.O.M

Written in January 2013.