Left student unions repaint graffiti at Jadavpur University after whitewashing

Jadavpur University students reclaimed the campus’s whitewashed walls by repainting political graffiti on Monday, reversing a day‑earlier clean‑up that followed Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s announcement that the university would no longer serve as a “free ground for Maoist sympathisers.” The Students Federation of India (SFI) Jadavpur unit launched its “Reclaim Your Wall” campaign, urging left‑wing student unions to restore the walls that the university’s maintenance crew had covered with paint. The move has drawn attention to the ongoing clash between leftist activists and the state government over campus expression.

The whitewash was carried out by a contractor hired by the university’s maintenance department after the CM’s statement that Jadavpur University would not tolerate political dissent linked to Maoist ideology. SFI’s social media post, posted Sunday evening, called on members of the CPI(M)’s student front and other left‑leaning unions to return to the walls with aerosol paint and brushes. A professor at the university, who requested anonymity, said the union members did not hold a demonstration but instead took up paint cans to repaint the campus.

The incident follows an earlier incident on August 20 when a Jadavpur University emblem, designed by celebrated painter Nandalal Bose, was damaged at a gate after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), allegedly tried to enter the campus following a clash with supporters of left student unions. The university filed a police complaint, but no arrests have yet been made. The damage to the logo drew criticism from civil society, and State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta released a video statement condemning the act as “uncalled for.”

On Friday, CM Adhikari addressed a large crowd outside the Jadavpur University campus while attending a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-held mass singing of the national song Vande Mataram for Raksha Bandhan. He criticized anti‑war rallies in contrast to the government’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, saying, “You don’t express grief or hold rallies when 45 CRPF jawans are killed by terrorists in Awantipora and tourists belonging to a specific religion are gunned down at Pahalgam. But anti‑war rallies are held when Operation Sindoor is carried out against Pakistan.” The CM added, “I know the disease. I also know the medicine.”

No political party released a statement after the graffiti returned to the campus, leaving the incident largely to the actions of student unions and the university administration. The repainting of the walls has reignited debate over free expression, political ideology, and the role of state authorities on university grounds. The Jadavpur University campus, a historic site of student activism, remains a flashpoint for the broader contest between left‑wing student groups and the ruling BJP‑aligned state government.

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