By Anwesha Banerjee
Kolkata: By the time the saffron flag-bearing men climbed Gate 4 of Jadavpur University in Kolkata and used its lotus-ringed emblem as a foothold, any pretence that Thursday’s (August 20) mobilisation was a peaceful student protest had collapsed.
The emblem, designed by Nandalal Bose, shows three flames surrounded by a blooming lotus. It had stood above the gate for more than two decades as a symbol of the university. Supporters of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student outfit affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), marching under saffron flags climbed the gate, planted their feet on Bose’s work to haul themselves up, broke part of it and then trampled on it.
The three flames stand for all-round development, emotion and imagination, and spiritual life. The lotus petals represent the arts. Bose was a leading figure of the Bengal School of Art movement and a former principal of Kala Bhavana at Santiniketan. At its golden jubilee, the university adopted the motto “Development Through Knowing”. His design was made to carry it.
Men who spent their evenings calling other people anti-national broke it with their shoes.
There was a grim irony in the spectacle. Even a lotus was not safe from the foot soldiers of lotus politics.
The vandalism happened in broad daylight, with the police present, after a full night of arson, assault and intimidation that neither the university administration and nor the police have yet fully accounted for.
Twelve hours of ‘tandav’ as police watch over
Trouble was expected on Thursday morning and a large police force had been deployed. However, what the force largely did was just watch.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
