3 hrs ago
Jadavpur University Graffiti War Gains Right-Wing Challenger
Students at Jadavpur University have been arguing through paintings and words on campus walls.
Left-wing student groups have traditionally used the walls for political messages.
A Right-wing student group called the Nationalist Students Front has now started adding its own messages.
The group objected to a picture of Charu Majumdar, a Naxalite leader.
University officials and city workers had removed or covered some earlier graffiti.
Left groups then wrote new slogans on the cleaned walls.
The NSF says it will answer each Left slogan with a counter-slogan.
The disagreement has also led to accusations about political flags and symbols on campus.
Nationalist Students Front members entered a Jadavpur University engineering union room and painted slogans targeting Left groups.
The NSF objected to a portrait of Naxalite leader Charu Majumdar and wrote “NSF” and “Nation Stands First” on campus walls.
University authorities and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation previously erased or whitewashed Left-related graffiti after objections from Suvendu Adhikari.
Left groups restored slogans on the walls, prompting the NSF to promise counter-slogans whenever new graffiti appears.
The dispute includes accusations over political symbols, alleged flag-burning, and references to figures including Hitler, Basavaraju and Madvi Hidma.
- Who
- Left student groups, including SFI and RSF supporters, and the Right-wing Nationalist Students Front are involved; university and city authorities have also acted.
- What
- A political graffiti dispute at Jadavpur University has expanded into a contest between Left and Right-wing student groups.
- Where
- Jadavpur University in Kolkata, particularly the Faculty of Engineering Technology and Science Union room and campus walls.
- When
- The latest NSF activity occurred on Friday; related graffiti and whitewashing took place the previous week. The article also references events on August 20 and deaths reported in 2025.
- Why
- The NSF says it is responding to graffiti and a portrait it considers anti-national, while Left groups continue expressing their political views through campus slogans.
Left student groups
Right-wing Nationalist Students Front
Use of campus walls
Left student groups
Left groups have continued writing political slogans on walls after earlier graffiti was erased or whitewashed.
Right-wing Nationalist Students Front
The NSF says it has entered the graffiti dispute to write nationalist messages and provide counter-slogans.
Charu Majumdar portrait
Left student groups
A portrait of Charu Majumdar was displayed in the FETSU room, alongside the broader Left political activity described in the article.
Right-wing Nationalist Students Front
The NSF objected to the portrait, saying Majumdar had declared war on the country’s security forces.
Political symbols and nationalism
Left student groups
An SFI leader alleged that Somsurya Banerjee appeared in a video trampling and burning red flags during an August 20 campus incident involving suspected ABVP supporters.
Right-wing Nationalist Students Front
The NSF says its graffiti expresses commitment to nationalism and that “Nation Stands First.”
Key facts
- Main Right-wing group
- Nationalist Students Front (NSF)
- University
- Jadavpur University
- Targeted portrait
- Naxalite leader Charu Majumdar
- Authorities involved
- Jadavpur University authorities and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, with police accompanying a KMC team
- NSF message
- “Nation Stands First”
- RSF message
- A slogan said that someone behaving like Hitler would die like Hitler
- Other references
- Graffiti referred to Basavaraju and Madvi Hidma
Quotes
Somsurya Banerjee
Member of the Nationalist Students Front at Jadavpur University
“It is not possible for the JU authorities or the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to erase the anti-national graffiti painted by the Naxals. So we have decided to write graffiti voicing our commitment to nationalism. We have jumped into the fray in the graffiti war.”
telegraphindia.com
“We were surprised to see a portrait of Charu Majumdar in the FETSU room. Everybody knows how Majumdar declared war on the country’s security forces.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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