Why is Jadavpur University in Kolkata on the boil? | Explained

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Workers hold the emblem of Jadavpur University during it's reinstallation at the main gate after the emblem installed on one of the gates was damaged on Thursday afternoon when members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly tried to enter the campus following a clash between its members and supporters, in Kolkata, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

The story so far: In the early hours of August 20, a group of activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) stormed into the campus of Jadavpur University. The activists, who were armed with batons and sticks, tore posters of the Left students’ union. The men also set the posters on fire at the entrance of Aurobindo Bhawan, the main administrative complex of the university.

The dispute between the two student groups — ABVP and Left student unions — including the Students Federation of India (SFI), started on Wednesday (August 19) over a ‘general body’ meeting. The ABVP supporters claimed that the Left-wing supporters cannot call such a meeting as no student union exists at the university. No student elections have been held for the past few years in educational institutions of West Bengal.

The student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also claimed that their supporters were manhandled. Several students, including ABVP’s Jadavpur University unit president Nikhil Das, were injured and later taken to KPC Hospital, Jadavpur, for treatment on Wednesday (August 19), following which ABVP supporters stormed inside the university.

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Tension prevailed around the university campus on August 20, with supporters of the right and left students’ unions gathering in large numbers. At around 2 p.m., a group of ABVP workers tried to enter the campus from gate number 4 when another group of students from SFI locked the gate and tried to resist them. The ABVP supporters climbed the entrance gate of the university and started throwing bottles, eggs, sticks, and stones, escalating the situation. An emblem of the university was also damaged as the ABVP supporters tried to climb over the gates.

Multiple FIRs have been registered at Jadavpur police station, including one on the complaint of university authorities. A written complaint by Jadavpur University Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya stated that after 12.37 a.m. in the night a group of unknown persons/outsiders allegedly forcibly entered the Jadavpur University campus and indulged in arson, vandalism, and intimidation.

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“Burning materials were allegedly thrown into Aurobindo Bhavan, where students and security personnel had taken shelter, thereby endangering their lives. University property, including CCTV cameras, gates, and installations, was also damaged, and an attempt was allegedly made to forcibly open the Main Hostel gate,” the police said, quoting the Vice Chancellor.