Right wing Twitter handles and Bharatiya Janata Party West Bengal members tweeted pictures of an iftar party falsely claiming that Presidency University in Kolkata organised the same for its students while having denied permission for a Saraswati Puja on the premises earlier.
BOOM found that the iftar was held at the Eden Hindu hostel, located outside the premises of the Presidency University and not within the college premises. We visited the hostel and found that it is adjacent to the Presidency University building.
BOOM found that the claim is false on multiple counts. Presidency University does not permit any religious celebration on campus grounds. The iftar was held at the Eden Hindu Hostel which houses Presidency University students. Furthermore, the same hostel also celebrated Hindu festivals such as Saraswati Puja and Shivratri in this year.
West Bengal BJP leader Keya Ghosh tweeted a screenshot of a Facebook post by user Irfan Sadique with images of the Iftar gathering held at Hindu Hostel of Presidency University with the claim, "Dawat-e-iftar in Presidency College's Eden Hindu hostel. Plz remember, Presidency University did not allow Saraswati Puja within the compound citing it goes against "secular" nature of the institution."
Click here to view the tweet.
Organiser Weekly, a news outlet owned and run by the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh too used the same Facebook post in its article and falsely wrote, "The Presidency University in West Bengal hosted a grand ‘Dawat-e-Iftar’ on April 5 with administrative support. The same officials refused to allow students to celebrate the Saraswati Puja in January this year. Presidency University is a state government-run university located in Kolkata."
Fact Check
BOOM found that Irfan Sadique, who posted the images of the Iftar celebrations in Eden Hindu hostel, is a Masters student from Aliah University. Sadique uploaded the photographs on his Facebook profile on April 5, 2023.
Sadique confirmed to us that students from various universities including those from Presidency and the hostel boarders attended the Iftar organised in the hostel grounds.
Click here to view an archive of the post.
Sadique told BOOM, "Hindu hostel boarders organised the iftar. Students from various communities stay in the hostel premises . They also held the Saraswati Puja in the same ground earlier."
Sadique further clarified, "The event did not take place inside the Presidency University campus."
BOOM also visited the Government Eden Hindu Hostel and spoke to the boarders. We noticed that the hostel is located adjacent from the Presidency University campus. Below is the exterior of the Hindu hostel.
We also visited the grounds where the Iftar was held and confirmed that the location was the same as in the viral pictures.
Paltan Shil Sharma, a varsity student residing in the hostel, who organised the iftar, said, "Students from various communities held the iftar. The Presidency University administration is not involved in this at all. The boarders raised funds and organised the event together. Our hostel activities do not have any connection with the university campus."
Sharma also added that festivals like Shivaratri and Saraswati Puja are also organised inside the hostel.
Sheikh Sahidul, another Eden Hindu hostel resident, told BOOM, "We organised Saraswati puja this year on the same ground inside the hostel. Iftar is being organised here since the last two years. Students organise such religious events inside the hostel as the authorities do not allow it inside the campus."
Below are photographs of the Saraswati puja celebrations in the hostel which were held on January 26, 2023.
Below is a comparison between the grounds of the Eden Hindu Hostel and the Presidency University campus.
We further spoke to Zaad Mahmood, professor at the department of Political Science, Presidency University, who told BOOM that no religious activity is allowed inside the varsity premises.
Mahmood told BOOM, "Students celebrate religious festivals in the Hindu hostel for several years and not within the campus. Some political parties tried to celebrate Saraswati puja within the campus this year; however our administration refused to give permission for the same citing that since it was never celebrated within the campus, we will not celebrate it now. The festivals are celebrated collectively in the Hindu hostel with harmony. There is no religious overtone to them."
Saraswati Puja celebration row in Presidency University
According to reports, the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) members wrote a letter to the Presidency University Dean Of Students seeking permission to organise Saraswati puja inside the university campus this year. However, the authority did not grant permission citing reasons that the university is secular in nature.
Following this, the TMCP members organised the Saraswati puja outside the Presidency University entrance, reported ABP Ananda.