Savarkar portrait installation in JNU sparks controversy among student union members
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A dispute has erupted within the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) following the unilateral installation of a portrait of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the union office by Vaibhav Meena, the joint secretary and a representative of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The portrait was installed on May 28, Savarkar’s birth anniversary.
Announcing the move on social media platform X, Meena said, “On 28th May, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) celebrated the jayanti of Veer Savarkar and placed a portrait of him in the JNUSU office.”
Another ABVP member from JNU welcomed the act, stating, “We had to wait for this for many years, it was accomplished only when ABVP won one seat in #JNUSU.”
In a separate post, Meena further stated, “Now JNU will not look the way it used to, where the martyrs and great men who sacrificed their lives for this country were insulted and disregarded. Now in JNU, the makers of this country will be honoured and talked about. Veer Savarkar is our ideal. He was remembered in the JNU Students Union office and his picture was installed in the same office where these leftists used to sit and spew venom against this country and society.”
The move was met with strong opposition from other members of the JNUSU central panel, who argued that it violated established protocol.
In a joint statement, JNUSU president Nitish Kumar and general secretary Munteha Fatima said, “It has come to our notice that portraits are being installed in the JNUSU Office without prior consultation in the Council meeting. A portrait in the JNUSU Office can’t be installed without a resolution being passed from the council meeting which has long been a convention.”
They added, “All organisations and individuals refrain from installing any portrait or photos without their resolution being passed in a council meeting.”
The current JNUSU central panel includes three members from the United Left: President Nitish Kumar, Vice President Manisha, and General Secretary Munteha Fatima. Vaibhav Meena, the joint secretary, is the sole representative from the ABVP on the panel.
