Around 15 Hindu students of Punjab University in Lahore were injured on Monday in an alleged attack by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing, Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT), when they were celebrating Holi on campus.
Per details, the Hindu students were celebrating Holi with the permission of the administration when the IJT activists attacked them.
Several videos of the incident have gone viral on social media with netizens reacting strongly against the attack.
The videos show security guards carrying batons and beating the students while they are running from the scene.
Sindh Council general secretary Kashif Brohi said that the Hindu community and the council organised a Holi celebration after getting the required permission from the university administration. He added that the IJT activists started threatening after Hindu students posted invitations for the Holi celebration on their Facebook page.
The members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside Punjab University Law College to celebrate Holi when the IJT activists attacked them. The attackers were reportedly carrying guns and batons.
Brohi said that 15 students from the Hindu community and Sindh Council suffered injuries during clashes and moved away without celebrating the event.
He added that the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor’s office, but here also they were beaten by security guards.
IJT DENIES ATTACK
IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid said that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi. He said the attackers might have used their names and added that the IJT would always ensure equality to minority community members to hold their religious events.
Shahid said that the security guards might have attacked the Hindu students but IJT had nothing to do with it. He claimed that the IJT activists were holding Dars-i-Quran on the campus and were not present there.
Meanwhile, a PU spokesman assured action against the students involved in the attack. He added that the administration had allowed the Hindu community members to celebrate Holi in a hall but they went out in open and the security guards came there to stop it.
He said the students were not allowed to organise the Holi celebration on the ground. The spokesperson also added that the security staff did not attack the students but they were trying to stop the youngsters from approaching the VC office.
The Holi, also known as the “festival of colours”, takes place on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month. The Holi celebrations signal the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Revellers spray coloured powder and water at each other and dance as well as distribute sweets during the celebrations. According to the Hindu calendar, Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima which comes in either the month of February or March.
The Hindu community in Pakistan and worldwide celebrate Holi with traditional and religious fervour. The Sindh government on Monday announced a two-day public holiday in the province for its Hindu employees on account of Holi.
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