'Catcalling & Harassment Instill Fear': Delhi Students React After Male Mob 'Invades' Campus

Female students from Delhi's Miranda House College have opened up about a horrific incident that took place last weekend, when scores of men trespassed the campus during a Diwali fest with malicious intent.

Within an hour of the celebration beginning, long queues of students from other colleges wrapped around the area. When they were denied entry, some men decided to climb over the fence to get onto the premises.

Sobhana, a student at Miranda House, posted footage of the incident online, showing how female students on campus were exposed to catcalling, sexist sloganeering, and even groping.

When the situation got out of control, the Women's Development Cell of Miranda House ordered the girls to evacuate for their own safety.

Recalling the horrific incident, Yashika Khanna, a fourth-year Bachelor of Elementary Education student, told Sputnik that male students from Ramjas College trespassed onto the campus and started shouting slogans, including “Ramjas ka naara hai, Miranda poora hamara hai” (meaning "all of Miranda is ours”), explaining that the mob was trying to show that “they have entitlement over Miranda girls” and were “marking their territory.”

“Since it’s a girls’ college, we don't censor ourselves and dress the way we like. Men wrongfully try to sneak into the campus and make videos. There is also a false impression made by the people that girls of Miranda House College go out on a date with Ramjas College," Khanna further shared.

Kunjan Kundu, a third-year Bachelor of Arts (BA) student at Miranda House College, told Sputnik that similar incidents have taken place in the past, while one of the main reasons behind the trend is poor crowd management and a lack of security arrangements on campus.

Like Khana, Kundu also had to wait half an hour to enter her college and was pushed around by the crowd several times.

“When I entered after much difficulty, I saw boys trespassing and entering the college. They would stare at us badly and even make [derogatory] comments. We complained to the teachers who too were troubled by the boys, as they would make noise outside the classroom while classes were going on,” Kundu said.

Another third-year student, Astha Patel of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) program, told Sputnik that although the campus environment is generally good and inclusive, they still feel very unsafe when leaving it.

“As soon as we step out of the college, there are people rolling their eyes and staring at the girls. It feels like I am an alien. Looking at the unsafe environment outside the campus, it is quite evident that things will go wrong when the gates are opened for the outsiders,” Patel shared.

Holding the college administration responsible for the incident, Patel said that the security placed at the entrance was not checking the ID cards of students.

“I saw the crowd becoming very violent and desperate to enter the campus. When men fail in their attempt, they would chant sexist slogans and sing songs like 'bewafa bewafa nikli hai re tu' ('you are an unfaithful lover'),” Patel said.

“If any fest happens next, we will feel scared and we wouldn’t be able to bring our family to see it,” Khanna said.

When asked how their parents react to such incidents, Patel said, “They are shocked to see that a prestigious institute like this is not able to handle such incidents, which have been happening every year during college fests. General hopelessness has set in in them and they have imposed measures for our safety like returning home early before it’s dark and keep a track of our whereabouts.”