Ram Mandir on campus: UoH sets up inquiry committee to look into matter

Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Tuesday set up a committee to inquire into the allegations of converting the old structure into Ram Mandir on Sunday.

The students' union had alleged that the members who painted and installed flags were associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Abhishek Nandan, Students Union President had urged the Vice-Chancellor requesting not to entertain such activities in the future. He said that the university is not very serious about the whole issue and this attitude is going to harm the campus.

"It has been three days since the incident took place. The university hasn't done anything. The admin people should have just gone and removed the flags and photos," said Abhishek.

He said now it's a small structure, tomorrow it could expand to various other similar activities. He said if the university does not take action, it would harm the campus.

Abhishek also reiterated that there was no photo or any kind of religious symbols on that premises before Sunday's Ram Navami celebrations. "The local non-teaching staff had celebrated the Bonalu festival in that place. That's it. There was no photo or any diety. There was only a normal stone there. On the Ram Navami day, the ABVP students placed photos, hoisted flags, and wrote Jai Shri Ram on the walls of the structure," he said.

However, UoH Registrar Devesh Nigam denied the allegations of involvement of any student groups. "It is a small structure that has existed since inception. Photos of some Hindu deities were there too. On the day of Ram Navami, one or two students went there and cleaned the place, painted it, and installed saffron flags. They had not taken our permission. So a committee has been set up to enquire into the matter. Action will be taken as per its recommendations," he said.

The students had made a swastika symbol on the structure and written 'Om' too. Nigam said the university has identified these students and found out that they were not associated with any group.

"Our university has a policy not to allow any permanent religious structure on the campus. But we allow the celebration of religious functions. That day, we had allowed a group of students to celebrate Ram Navami in Gurbaksh Singh Maidan. That celebration was peaceful," he said

What happened in UoH on Ram Navami?

On Sunday, a small, dilapidated structure inside the university was converted into a Ram Mandir as part of the Ram Navami celebrations. A small structure, located in front of men's hostel `F', was allegedly converted into a temple. This building is usually used by the non-teaching staff to celebrate local festivals. On Sunday, the rocks on the premises of the structure were painted saffron, several flags were raised on the structure, and some rituals/pooja was conducted.