Enquiry ordered after JNU campus walls painted with 'graffiti inciting caste divide'

Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Santishree D. Pandit on Friday ordered an enquiry after several buildings on campus were defaced on Thursday with anti-Brahmin slogans. Images of the same were widely circulated on social media.

Several walls in the School of International Studies- II building were vandalised with slogans against Brahmin and Baniya communities. "The Vice-Chancellor has taken serious note of the incident of defacement of walls and faculty rooms by some unknown elements in SIS, JNU," the official statement read.

Several walls on the JNU campus were painted with anti-Brahmin slogans such as — "Brahmins Leave The Campus", "There Will Be Blood", "Brahmin Bharat Chhodo" and "Brahmino-Baniyas, we are coming for you! We will avenge."

Hours after the incident, the administration issued a statement, saying such incidents will not be tolerated as JNU belongs to all. "JNU stands for inclusion and equality. The VC reiterates zero tolerance for any kind of violence on campus," it added.

Meanwhile, the JNU Teachers' Forum said in their statement: "The doors have been spray painted with graffiti inciting caste divide which is nothing but an ugly expression of invective directed at the political allegiance of the victimised teachers."

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused the Left of the vandalisation. "ABVP condemns the rampant vandalisation of academic spaces by communist goons. The communists have written abuses on the walls of JNU in the School of International Studies- II building. They have defaced chambers of free-thinking professors to intimidate them," ABVP JNU President Rohit Kumar was quoted by PTI as saying.

Kumar said academic spaces must be used for debates and discussion and "not for poisoning the society and students' community".

The JNU teachers' body also held the "left-liberal gang" responsible for the incident. The forum released a statement calling the incident of vandalism "a conspiracy by the cabal and the agents of chaos to disrupt the social harmony of the campus".