New Delhi: The outside walls of the Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) have been painted saffron and the colour of its logo changed to saffron as well, much to the displeasure of its staff and students who call it “blatant political messaging”.
A student tweeting about the move said “DU is overturning its own glorious and revolutionary history by painting the walls saffron!”
DU is trying to overturn it's own glorious & revolutionary history by painting the campus saffron!
Conf. Centre, halls, College auditoriums are being allotted for blatantly Islamophobic, casteist events.Fascists like swapan Dasgupta, Diya Kumari, Ach Prashant were called
1/n pic.twitter.com/j7qAF4C3sZ
— Anjali (@anjali__27) March 25, 2023
In a recent move, the logo of the college, which is a lotus inside a swastika in a black and white motif, too has been changed and embedded in a saffron coloured circle, ThePrint has learnt.
While upset students claim that the college is losing its diverse and apolitical identity and wary of increased surveillance relating to those joining student political units, the professors were disappointed that they were not informed before making any changes.
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‘Blatant shift to Right’
Reacting to these recent steps by the college administration, one of its professors has said that they were not informed about the changes. Students, meanwhile, have claimed that the blatant ‘shift to the Right’ by the college has come as a shock to them.
They alleged that the changes are being brought about at the behest of the new principal Poonam Kumria. The former Miranda House professor joined IPCW on 21 February.
Prof. Poonam Kumria has joined as Principal of Indraprastha College for Women, w.e.f. 21 February 2023.
College fraternity extend her a warm welcome! #ipcw #universityofdelhi pic.twitter.com/Zggz6yL6N7
— Indraprastha College for Women (@ipcollegedu) February 21, 2023
ThePrint has reached out to Kumria via calls and messages. The copy will be updated once a response is received.
Established in 1924, IPCW is one of the important colleges under the University of Delhi that took part in the freedom movement. Students and professors claim that the college has had a rich history of a strong feminist movement.
Students object move
A first-year BA student, wishing anonymity, told ThePrint that the move makes her wary of the college’s previous promise of being diverse and apolitical. “It has only been a month since I joined the college, and I can tell that this move is strange and shows partiality towards a particular ideology.”
The institute has always boasted of a progressive, apolitical campus and this move clearly diminishes that image. “They could have chosen any other colour, why only saffron?” the student questioned.
Shambhavi, a second-year student affiliated with the All India Students Association (AISA), said the posters that the organisation put up to show dissent were taken down immediately.
Asked about the logo, Anjali, the DU Secretary for AISA, said, “The logo was changed only three days back. No committee was formed to look into it, no consultations with the students or professors were made either. Using saffron on walls and logos is a clear violation of the democratic nature of the institution.”
Students have also claimed that there is an ongoing conversation on campus regarding increased surveillance with regard to students’ affiliations with student political units. However, the college has not issued any formal notice regarding the same yet.
Professors not consulted, call it political messaging
A professor of the college said that they were informed regarding the decision.
“Previously, members of the staff council were apprised regarding such changes in the meeting. The arbitrariness of the move has come as a shock to all the professors. Given the current political climate of the country, this is clearly a message,” the college administration said. “This move erodes the long standing ethos of the college.”
Calling the move a ‘blatant political statement’, Prof Abha Dev Habib of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) told ThePrint that “It is rather unfortunate that time and again the colleges in Delhi University are resorting to making such political statements.”
“IPCW is a legacy institution which takes pride in its rich history and such a statement reflects a change in the ethos of the college only for the worse,” she added.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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