ABVP to hold rally today demanding end of ‘anti-national activities’ in Jadavpur University

August 24, 2026

Kolkata: Security has been tightened at Jadavpur University (JU) in south Kolkata ahead of an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) rally on Monday demanding an end to what it termed “anti-national Leftist activities” within the university.

The rally will begin from Dhakuria Crossing and conclude at Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand. The Jadavpur University campus falls along the rally route.

Although ABVP leaders have said that the rally will remain peaceful and pass along the route without attempting to enter the campus, Kolkata Police have made precautionary arrangements to prevent any untoward incident.

Security tightened after clashes

The security measures come after clashes between ABVP activists and members of the CPI(M)’s student wing, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), twice last week.

Several students from both groups were injured in the clashes.

Meanwhile, JU authorities are expected to announce later on Monday the future of the probe committee formed to investigate the incidents.

Probe panel faces uncertainty

Uncertainty surrounds the three-member probe committee after its head, Subha Shankar Sarkar, former Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University, informed JU authorities that he was unwilling to head the panel.

The other members of the committee are Arunasish Goswami, Vice-Chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Education University, and Soumendu Chattopadhyay, Director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at Presidency University.

JU authorities now have two options — appoint a replacement for Sarkar as the committee’s head or constitute a fresh panel with new members.

JU’s long Left student politics history

Jadavpur University, like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, has for years been considered a strong base for Left-leaning student unions.

Even during the 15-year tenure of the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal from 2011 to 2026, attempts by the Trinamool Congress to gain control of student bodies at JU did not succeed.