Delhi: Students protest against cow centre at Hansraj College, say land was meant for women’s hostel
According to the principal, the area was not sufficient for a building to accommodate 100 students.
Students protested outside Hansraj College in Delhi on Monday over the setting up of a cow research and protection centre, PTI reported.
Members of the Students’ Federation of India and its Delhi unit alleged that the cow centre has been established on a plot of land that had been designated for a women’s hostel.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, the Delhi unit of the Students’ Federation of India called for the protest. Its member said that the centre was a “gaushala” and added that universities must build more hostels for students.
Hansraj College Principal Rama Sharma said the land where the cow centre has come up is not sufficient to build a hostel to accomodate 100 students, reported The Wire. Sharma said she would like to demarcate more space for hostel, according to the report.
Samaa, the president of the Hansraj College unit of the Students’ Federation of India, told The Wire that the demand for a women’s hostel was made in 2016. Since there is no hostel, the male to female ratio of the college has dropped to 62:38, she said, according to The Wire.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Aishe Ghosh was disapproving of the cow research and protection centre.
“From building hostels for students to giving away land meant for hostels to build gaushalas [read as hostels for cows], she said in a tweet. “We as a country, have come a long way.”
Meanwhile, a separate committee has been formed to manage the cow centre and Dr Gaurav Kumar of the physical education department is the coordinator, India Today reported on Friday.