'Nobody Can Tell Us What And What Not To Eat', Argues JNU Student

Student groups in Jawaharlal Nehru University clashed on Sunday over the serving of meat on the hostel premises. Nearly six students were injured in the violence at 3:30 PM in the Kaveri hostel. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has alleged that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members assaulted the mess secretary and stopped the staff from serving meat dishes in the hostel.

'Problem Started When They Started Telling What To Eat'

Madhurima Kundu, a student at JNU, told The Logical Indian that "ABVP students were doing their prayers on Sunday, which also happened to be Ram Navami. The problem happened when they chased away a meat supplier. In JNU, there is an option for the students to eat chicken in the hostel. Moreover, they instructed the mess manager that no non-veg would be served. The problem started when they started dictating what and what would not be served to students".

The mess committee members, who are all students selected from amongst the students, said that the menu for every month is decided at the beginning. They said that if anyone had a problem with the menu, they should have been notified earlier. After that, the ABVP members started pelting stones into a mess and hitting other people. Kundu told The Logical Indian that ABVP is now alleging that everyone in the hostel had consented to not eating meat. However, there was no general body meeting in the hostel, nor was any circular signed.

Threatening Students On Campus

After initially beating up a few people in the early evening on Sunday, when other students started visiting the mess and saw that there was no non-veg, they questioned the mess committee. The ABVP members started thrashing students. Kundu heard of the incident at 7:30 PM and reached the hostel shortly after. "They started kicking us on the legs and in areas where the camera would not capture them. They slapped on my face and then threatened and beat others up," Kundu narrated his ordeals.

The students tried to contact the JNU administration, which was unavailable. Initially, the administration said they were looking into the matter, but nobody came to see what had happened. The following day the University released a press release on the incident. Kundu said, "The political parties have their idea of promoting one culture for one India. However, there are Hindu Brahmins in several states that eat meat. Eating meat is less about religion and more about your food preferences, one's native place, and upbringing".

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