OU turned out sensitive over the beef festival organized by the Dalit student organizations and supported by Left groups, but the festival opposes felt it hurt sentiments.
The political hub of Hyderabad, Osmania University had outrageous clashes between the students on account of a food festival conducted on Sunday within the campus. The `Beef Fest’ organized by the Dalit students groups of OU supported by some senior faculty and city-based academics to celebrate the Dalit food culture, which includes eating beef, at the Narmada Research Scholars (NRS) Hostel on the campus. Owing to the assurance by students that the meat would be procured from outside and no in house slaughter would be done, kept the police silent. Nearly 1000 people were to participate in the event.
Tension broke out as the Akhil Bharathiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists tried to disrupt the festival in front of NRS, but Police sensing trouble intervened and prevented the protest. But at around 7 pm a group of 50 students’ protesters shouting slogans tried to march towards the venue and started pelting stones. The incident took shape just as the main delicacy of the event `Beef Biriyani’ was being served to about 200 guests. The ensuing melee turned out chaotic and the campus remained tense till late night on Sunday. The violence that staged its ugly hood in the state’s premier education campus saw nearly five injured and two vehicles torched.
"The festival was intended to make the point that upper caste diktats over food habits needed to be resisted, however another group of students opposed the idea on the ground that it is against Indian culture," a police official said. Police lobbed teargas shells to disperse the students and bring the situation under control.
It may be noted, Last year, when a similar fest was organized at the English and Foreign Languages University, the ABVP activists had vandalized the place and destroyed the food. Police had booked cases against some activists.
Students are volatile community that gets lured to heroism, aggravated speeches and hot controversies. Osmania University has been the centre hub for controversies during the ongoing T-stir and now this one only goes on to show the highly disciplined zone is lacking the fundamental issue. But who is responsible for this erratic behavior of the moro’s citizens of this nation. Hope at least now the politicians who crave for the support of these innocent students will let them lead a life of their choice. Politics and racism prove to be two destructive elements that disintegrate harmony. (With inputs from internet: AarKay)
