Clash at JNU over ‘Ravan Dahan’ poster depicting Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
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New Delhi: A clash broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday evening during a Durga idol immersion procession on Dussehra. The violence occurred near Sabarmati T-Point after tensions flared over a controversial poster.
According to JNUSU President Nitish Kumar, the confrontation began when a poster depicting jailed student leaders Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam as Ravan was circulated earlier in the day. “Students from other groups were protesting against it when the ABVP’s Durga Visarjan procession reached the spot, and the situation turned chaotic,” Kumar said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused Left-affiliated groups, including AISA, SFI and DSF, of launching an attack. “They violently attacked the immersion procession, pelted stones, and even targeted female students. This is not just violence, but an assault on our traditions,” the ABVP said in a statement.
However, Kumar alleged that ABVP members halted their DJ at the tea point for nearly half an hour, raised slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Yogi ji’s bulldozer justice is here,” and later resorted to waving slippers.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) rejected ABVP’s allegations, accusing the group of politicising religion on campus. “ABVP is trying to communalise the campus through such programmes. This is nothing but propaganda,” AISA said.
The poster at the centre of the controversy portrayed Khalid and Imam—both jailed since 2020 under UAPA charges linked to the Delhi riots conspiracy case—as Ravan. The 2020 riots, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Both Khalid and Imam deny the charges.
Last week, the Supreme Court directed Delhi Police to respond to their bail pleas after repeated rejections by lower courts.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
