From ‘Nation First’ to ‘Brahmanvaad Zindabad’: Inside the chaos at DU

On February 12, as students sat outside Delhi University’s Arts Faculty listening to anti-caste poetry and speeches, a bucket of water was hurled toward 94-year-old historian Irfan Habib. Minutes later, bricks came flying from inside the Arts Faculty.

Habib was speaking at the “People’s Literature Festival – Samta Utsav,” an All India Students’ Association (AISA)-led event held outside the Arts Faculty. It was organised in protest against the first-ever Delhi University Literature Festival (DULF) – a Ministry of Culture collaboration themed ‘Nation First: Unity in Diversity’ that ran from February 12–14.

Tensions escalated the following day, marked by a viral video capturing YouTuber Megha Lawariya leading a crowd outside the Maurice Nagar police station and chanting “Brahmanvaad Zindabad”. The standoff followed a confrontation involving another YouTuber Ruchi Tiwari; while AISA alleged she assaulted one of their student leaders, Ruchi maintained that she was the one attacked.

Two festivals, one campus

The DULF was organised from February 12-14. Star guests included TV anchors such as Anjana Om Kashyap, Rubika Liyaqat, Anand Narasimhan, and Smita Prakash.

Other speakers included former National General Secretary of the BJP, Ram Madhav; BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi; Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri; Piyush Mishra; Pankaj Tripathi; and more.

Apart from a ‘Bhajan Clubbing’ event organised in the university stadium, a few of its sessions were titled: “Global Relevance of Vedic Knowledge Today”, “India and the Global Reset”, “Understanding Bharat Beyond Colonial Frames”, and “Vande Mataram: 150 Years of Awakening Nation's Soul”.

Claiming the festival to be “a mouthpiece for regressive propaganda and communal rhetoric,” the All India Students’ Association (AISA), meanwhile, organised a “People’s Literature Festival – Samta Utsav” outside the Arts Faculty in DU.

The festival featured historian Professor S. Irfan Habib, who spoke about a “systematic attempt to rewrite India’s past”, and literary critic Professor Hemlata Mahishwar, who addressed the “marginalisation of Dalit voices”. Additionally, Professor Keshav Kumar recited selections from his new anti-caste poems, while Professor Uma Gupta read verses on the “everydayness” of caste violence.

Following the attack on day one, students broke out into slogans and demanded that the police on the scene take action.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Irfan Habib said, “What happened there is exactly what’s happening in the country. We’re facing this all over India, such cases. University campuses are meant for diverse voices to be expressed freely. If you try to curb, control, or indulge in such acts, then that goes against the very spirit of freedom and the spirit of democratic rights. Disagreements should not be met with goondaism. You do this through dialogue.”

He added, “People like us have been doing this for quite a while. We know how these things operate. But you have to keep fighting. Sitting back is not an option. Keep writing and speaking. You have to be careful because such forces have no ethics. And the fight has to go on.”

Explaining the sequence of events, Anjali, a Master's student at DU and also Delhi AISA Secretary, said, “Whenever there is a progressive event, reading circle, or protest going on, police and CRPF are present. Even on February 12, guards forming a human chain were present. Despite this, see the hollowness of the police. Historically, whenever something like this happens, the police have never been able to catch the perpetrators. The SHO of Maurice Nagar Police Station was there. One of the men who threw the bricks was captured on video and identified as ABVP member Harish Chaudhary.” 

However, DU Joint Proctor Manoj Singh said, “We have not received any complaints of any attacks or mischief on campus.”

Countering his claim, Anjali said, “We showed the video to the SHO, to the DU security chief, and even spoke to the proctor who had come to the site. This is nothing but red-tapism that only once a complaint is filed, will any action be taken.”

Meanwhile, ABVP’s National Media Convenor, Harsh Attri, told Newslaundry: “The viral video of Harish Chaudhary is doctored; two separate clips have been merged. He is not sitting with a brick; it was lying there beforehand. He has filed a complaint with the cyber cell and will also file a defamation suit. The video claims he is a goon, but he is actually a well-behaved student.”

‘Brahmanvaad Zindabad’

On February 13, AISA organised the “Adhikar Rally” in favour of the UGC regulations to address caste discrimination on campuses and against the “cowardly attack by the ABVP” at their People’s Literature Festival.

“You can see a video going viral where AISA members have held on to Ruchi only to give her up to the police. You can hear it in the video. Now, the right-wing ecosystem has cropped that video and is claiming assault on her,” he added.

Ruchi runs the YouTube channel Breaking Opinion. A scan of her recent uploads shows her at a Bhim Army rally, where she filmed a video claiming to be "surrounded" – an incident that triggered yet another confrontation.

In another video titled, “SC ST Protest mein mahila patrakar se badatamizi”, she can be seen engaging in another shouting match with journalists.

Alleging that she does this regularly, Saiyed said: “She goes to these protests to instigate people and corner them. Whenever AISA organises an event, there are attempts by the ABVP to make it violent through various means.”

He explained that Anjali and other witnesses went to the Maurice Nagar police station to file a complaint against her. “But there was a mob of almost 200 people and these YouTubers gathered,” he added. Ruchi, meanwhile, has provided her own version of events to PTI, alleging she was the victim.

A video of the mob has since gone viral, showing YouTuber Megha Lawariya raising the slogan “Brahmanvaad Zindabad”.

She has gone viral before for her views.

“The crowd gheraoed the station. They also broke the glass of the station and assaulted some of our members while using casteist slurs. The police asked us to leave the station, but we insisted that we needed protection. That is when the police put us in a bus and got us out,” Saiyed alleged.

Clarifying their position, ABVP Delhi State Secretary Sarthak Sharma told Newslaundry: “There was no scuffle between ABVP and the protestors. We have nothing to do with the whole event or Ruchi Tiwari. Maybe she either asked something they didn’t like, or they didn’t like her presence. We have only condemned the violence.”

When asked about the attack a day earlier, he said, “The Left has no agenda. They can only be discussed when they attach our name to theirs. They do this kind of politics to come into the limelight.”

“Violence against the reporter is condemnable; that is ABVP's official stance. Outside the police station, there were students, but they were not part of ABVP,” said Harsh Attri when asked about the mob gathered outside Maurice Nagar police station.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Maurice Nagar SHO said, “We have received complaints from both sides, and we will take action. No FIR has been filed yet.” 

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