Men seen 'climbing' walls of Miranda House to see Diwali fest; students allege harassment

NEW DELHI: Some students of Delhi University's all-women Miranda House have alleged several men climbed the college walls and gates to witness an open Diwali fest on the campus, and indulged in "cat-calling and sexist sloganeering". The students of the prestigious college shared multiple videos on social media in which some men are seen purportedly scaling the boundary wall, roaming around on the campus and raising slogans.

While police said no complaint has been received so far, they responded to the social media videos saying "some students (3-4) were trying to enter the college", but they were stopped and the October 14 Diwali programme remained "incident-free". There was no response from the college administration despite multiple attempts.

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A student claimed in a tweet they were subjected to "catcalling and sexist sloganeering" during the events on Friday as the men allegedly entered the campus forcibly. "Men climbing over the walls to get into Miranda House during an open fest. What followed was horrible. Catcalling, groping, sexist sloganeering and more. Men entering safe spaces to harass gender minorities is nothing new, but they outdo themselves every time," a student tweeted.

Another student alleged many attendees entered classrooms and responded rudely. "Men from Ramjas College with their sexist slogan, 'Ramjas ka Naara hai, Miranda poora hamara hai'. (Ramjas' slogan, all of Miranda is ours. Despicable," she added.

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In its statement, the police said, "On 14 October 2022, there was a Diwali Mela celebration programme in Miranda House College and entry was allowed for all college students. At some point, huge crowd gathered inside and so, for some time, the entry gates had to be closed by college administration. "Some students (3-4) were trying to enter to see the Diwali Mela by climbing the walls. They were stopped and they could not enter inside the college premises. This is the video of that time. "Pertinent to mention is that no complaint has been received as alleged by the school admin also. And also, the programme was very peaceful and incident-free," the police said in a statement.