http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Beef-fest-leads-to-tension-on-Eflu-campus/articleshow/8137596.cms
'Beef fest' leads to tension on Eflu campus
TNN | May 2, 2011, 12.05am IST
HYDERABAD: Tension prevailed on English and Foreign Languages
University (Eflu) campus on Sunday following the attack a day before
on dalit students of the university by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad (ABVP) activists. On Saturday, about 15 dalit students were
attacked by ABVP activists for planning to conduct a 'Beef Festival'
on campus.
According to members of Dalit Adivasi Bahujan Minority Students'
Association (DABMSA) and Telangana Students' Association (TSA) who
jointly planned to conduct the festival from Saturday with the support
of almost all student unions on campus, the ABVP activists barged into
the campus kitchen and threw down the vessels in which the beef was
cooked.
They also reportedly broke furniture in the mess hall and pelted
stones at the college buildings. The two groups of agitated students
were dispersed by Osmania University police.
On Sunday morning, the university authorities closed the men's hostel
mess to prevent any untoward incident.
However, a large section of students are reportedly demanding that
beef be included in the mess menu. Dalit and OBC students comprise 50
per cent of the student population at Eflu.
The dalit activists said they had taken up the issue of serving beef
in the mess hall following a talk given about a month ago by Veena
Satrugna, former deputy director, National Institute of Nutrition, on
beef being ignored from the "traditional" Indian meal.
The students said that several discussions were held on including beef
in the menu during which objections were raised on cooking and serving
issues. "We had promised other students that beef would be cooked
using separate vessels and would be served outside the mess hall. Our
demand is that the exercise be brought under the purview of the mess
committee,'' said a dalit student and member, DABMSA.
A representation signed by 60 students was submitted to the university
authorities requesting that beef be part of the menu.
This is not the first time that such a festival is being conducted on
the campus here. The beef fests in the past were conducted smoothly
without any opposition from any student groups.
"The university cannot prevent students from conducting such a
festival on campus and we are not averse to the idea of the festival
and respect the sentiment behind it. The mess hall which was damaged
by the students will be reopened after a few days. The university and
police are investigating into the violence on campus," said
Nagamallika Gudipaty, dean, School of Communication and spokesperson,
Eflu.
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