Kolkata

Members of the West Bengal University Karmachari Parishad, an employees’ body associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, conducted drills and other ‘shakha’ activities at the football ground of Jadavpur University, underlining what supporters described as the growing presence of the saffron camp in a campus long regarded as a stronghold of Left-oriented politics.

According to the organisation’s secretary, Palash Maji, the programme began at around 6.30 am on Tuesday and included physical drills as well as “Bauddhik” or intellectual sessions. He said the objective was to “re-nationalise” the campus and free it from what he described as Maoist influence.

The activities followed a rally by pro-RSS employees on Wednesday, during which participants carrying saffron flags marched from the Arts-Science intersection to Aurobindo Bhavan while raising slogans.

Maji claimed that the university, traditionally associated with Left student activism and political movements, would no longer tolerate what he termed anti-national activities on campus. He also announced plans to remove graffiti and wall writings considered objectionable, adding that daily shakha sessions would combine physical training with ideological discussions aimed at promoting nationalist values among students and staff.

The development comes amid a broader push by organisations linked to the RSS to strengthen their presence in educational institutions in West Bengal following the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in the state.

University officials said representatives of the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shikshak Mahasangh met Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee earlier this week, seeking formal recognition for the body and calling for stricter discipline on campus.

Meanwhile, the university has launched a three-day mentoring programme on innovation and entrepreneurship under the Centre’s PM-SHRI scheme, which will continue until May 15. The initiative had previously faced opposition from the former All India Trinamool Congress government.

Separately, a photograph of Syama Prasad Mookerjee was recently placed in the vice-chancellor’s office alongside portraits of Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and other eminent personalities. Officials said the photograph had been gifted to the vice-chancellor only a few days earlier.

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RSS functionaries also claimed that the number of shakhas in West Bengal has increased significantly over the years, rising from around 1,350 in 2012 to over 4,300 in 2026, which they described as a sign of growing acceptance of the organisation’s ideology in the state.