Last Monday, a group of Islamic History students set up a cooking station outside the Muktamancha, preparing a traditional beef khichuri that soon drew a crowd of Hindu students who shouted “Anti-India” slogans.
The protest erupted after Jagannath University had issued a notice forbidding animal slaughter on campus, citing public health. The notice was lifted after a faction of students threatened to disrupt campus life, forcing administrators to backtrack.
In a further escalation, the students announced a planned beef feast on Shashti, the third day of the Durga Puja festival, and secured a cow from Bangladesh Chhatra Majlish, the student wing of the Islamist party Khelafat Majlis.
Proctors have urged restraint, but the university’s central temple committee has expressed no objection as long as the feast does not interfere with religious activities. “We respect each other’s rights,” said a senior faculty member, though the tone remains tense.
The next week will see the campus under heightened security as the Durga Puja celebrations approach, with authorities warning that any further clashes could spill into the city’s busy streets.