Muslim female students at Cachar College in Assam’s Silchar have alleged that ABVP members snatched their hijabs, pushed them, and physically assaulted male students during a student membership drive on Aug. 25. The college has since moved to enforce a uniform code to ban hijab on campus.
The clashes erupted during simultaneous membership drives by ABVP and National Students’ Union of India. According to students, an argument broke out after ABVP members objected to Muslim students wearing hijabs at the NSUI camp. The situation escalated into a physical altercation, leaving several students injured.
A Muslim female student told local media that ABVP members initially told them that Cachar College was an educational institution where religion had no place, and then began chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
“They said, ‘You are wearing a hijab today, tomorrow you will start praying here.’ When pooja is held here, we never question why it is happening. Then why are they questioning our hijab?” she said.
She also stated that ABVP members spread a false claim that students were hiding headphones beneath their hijabs. “If that is the case, they can put mechanisms in place to check students before examinations,” she responded.
The NSUI alleged that ABVP members used political influence to cover up the assault.Two days later, MLA Zubair Anam Mazumder,in a memorandum to Cachar SSP, sought enhanced security for students.