Students ‘beaten’ for celebrating Holi at Karachi University

KARACHI: Some Hindu students studying at the University of Karachi on Tuesday alleged that they had been “subjected to violence” and stopped from celebrating Holi by members of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) — a student organisation.

Holi is a Hindu spring festival also known as the "festival of colours" and is celebrated by the Hindu community in Pakistan and worldwide with traditional and religious fervour.

The students, who organised the Holi celebration, said they belonged to the Sindhi department, and had been “tortured” for the festivities they had arranged.

“While we were celebrating Holi,” they alleged, “a number of boys from the Jamiat came and stopped us. They beat us and other students.”

A female student, in a video statement, corroborated this statement, saying while she and her classmates had been celebrating Holi, students from the IJT came and “harassed” them and beat up the male students.

Moreover, Sindh Universities Minister Ismail Rahu took notice of the incident and directed KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi to investigate the matter.

“The university administration should conduct an inquiry and submit a detailed report,” Rahu said.

He further said that Hindu students are fully permitted to celebrate their festivals in the university and that no one can stop them, adding: “Our religion and law teach respect for all religions and beliefs and give people full freedom to celebrate their festivals.”

IJT, administration respond

An official of the varsity, who wished not to be named, said that no student sought permission for celebrating Holi from the educational institution's authorities.

"No incident of violence against students celebrating Holi was reported to the security office, student advisor, or the campus hospital," the official said, noting that law enforcement agencies have also not reported such an incident.

The official added that the varsity administration would call in the students seen in the video for seeking information about the alleged incident.

The IJT, however, claimed that it had nothing to do with the incident.

IJT spokesperson Basiq Naeem told Geo News that the student organisation was not involved in the beating of students. “We respect all religions,” he added.

He also alleged that members of the nationalist organisation wanted to “promote religious hatred through baseless propaganda” and demanded that the university administration conduct a transparent investigation into the matter.