Strike A Pose: DUSU President Flashes Guns

A memorial service with those in attendance posing with guns and rifles could pass off as normal in the badlands of Western Uttar Pradesh. But in our very own, supposedly genteel Delhi University? Apparently, yes.

At a memorial service held on Sunday for Pradeep Tanwar, brother of recently-elected Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) president Amit Tanwar, these photographs were not just taken, but also proudly displayed on social media.

The service was held inside the DUSU office in North Campus. The DUSU president is seen standing fourth from the left, looking quite out of place among his motley bunch of, let’s call them, friends. He is not carrying a gun himself, but is a part of the picture in which the guns have been proudly displayed on a table inside the DUSU office. 

We’ll leave aside the question of why anyone looks so jubilant at a memorial service.

According to University rules, guns are not allowed on campus. As per Ordinance XV of the Delhi University rule-book, “Without prejudice to the generality of power to enforce discipline under the Ordinance the following shall amount to acts of gross indiscipline:

b.) Carrying of, use of or threat to use of any weapons.”

Tanwar didn’t seem to be particularly concerned about the fact that despite being DUSU president, he was flouting these rules. The photos were posted online by Tanwar’s friend.

When Newslaundry contacted Professor JM Khurana, Dean, Students’ Welfare, Delhi University, he said he had no information about the memorial and the students flouting university norms. “I cannot comment on this, since I do not know about the incident,” Khurana said. When asked if any enquiry would be initiated into the matter, he said that once he had all the information, he would look into it, and decide on the course of action to take.

Newslaundry also reached out to Tanwar. “The guns that are seen in the picture belonged to the PSO [personal security officer] of one of those who attended the memorial service. We do not own the guns,” he said when asked why he was carrying guns on campus.  

Fair enough, though it does raise the question of why a PSO was carrying so many guns on campus and why he would ‘loan’ them to a group of 20 young men for an impromptu photoshoot.