Why Jadavpur University Is the ‘Waterloo’ of Hegemonic Power
- Aug 22
- 5 min read
by Nazrul Ahmed Zamader
During the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Jadavpur University must be freed from Naxals. The statement was not just a comment about one university. It reflected a larger political desire to change the character of an institution that has a long history of student activism, critical thinking, and resistance. A few months later, on Independence Day, the Prime Minister used another expression: ‘Dimagi Naxal’. He said that people with a Naxal mindset were harmful to Indian society and needed to be identified and isolated. But something unexpected has happened. After the Prime Minister’s statement, several opposition leaders began reclaiming the word ‘Naxal’. They said that if speaking for poor, oppressed, and marginalised people is Naxal, then they are all Naxals. If speaking for students’ rights is Naxal, then they are all Naxals. If standing with farmers and workers is Naxal, then they are all Naxals. Former Union Home Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram also described himself as a ‘Naxal’. A word that was meant to stigmatize dissent is therefore being reclaimed by those who are being labelled. The word ‘Naxal’ is entering the mainstream political discourse in a very different way.
Even after the BJP came to power in West Bengal, the RSS-affiliated student wing ABVP has once again faced strong resistance at Jadavpur. The recent confrontation has once again raised an old question: why is it so difficult for any political power to capture Jadavpur University completely?
The latest incident began around a general body meeting of the students. From Wednesday night, the campus became tense. Students alleged that ABVP supporters set fire to red flags belonging to Left student organizations. They also allegedly tried to enter the university by breaking through the gates. Around 30 students were reportedly inside the campus at the time, and there were allegations that attempts were made to attack them. There were also allegations that attempts were made to enter the main hostel by breaking its gate. Students further alleged that the university authorities and police remained silent during the incident. The tension continued on Thursday. Civil society groups organized a protest. Students also took out a procession inside the campus. Later, an ABVP procession reportedly reached Gate No. 4. Eggs and water bottles were allegedly thrown at students. The university emblem designed by the great artist Nandalal Bose was also reportedly damaged. Thousands of students inside the university responded with the slogan, “Inquilab Zindabad.”
Students also surrounded the vice-chancellor’s office throughout the day. FIRs were filed against 11 students, but none against the ABVP attackers. Students asked why. Since the VC was absent, students kept the Pro-VC under gherao till night. On Friday, students marched from Jadavpur to Dhakuria and then returned to the university campus. Following the protests, the university authorities reportedly agreed to file an FIR against ABVP supporters. Two inquiry committees were also formed.
The real question is this: Why do both the Trinamool government and the BJP government fail before the resistance of Jadavpur students? Why can political forces that have captured so many colleges and universities in West Bengal not completely capture Jadavpur? Why does Jadavpur University repeatedly become a “Waterloo” for hegemonic power?
Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the most powerful rulers of his time. He appeared almost unstoppable. Yet in 1815, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. It became his final defeat. Waterloo therefore became more than the name of a battlefield. It became a metaphor for the place where apparently unstoppable power finally meets its limits. Jadavpur is not literally a battlefield. Nor can any political party simply be compared with Napoleon. But the metaphor is powerful.
To understand why hegemonic forces cannot capture or defeat Jadavpur, we must look at its history. Jadavpur University began in 1906 through the National Council of Education. It was created in the context of the Swadeshi movement. In 1904, under the autocratic British Viceroy Lord Curzon, the Indian Universities Act was passed. It gave the British Empire full control over educational institutions. The Carlyle Circular was also introduced to control student political activities. In protest, the National Council of Education was formed. Rabindranath Tagore, Rashbihari Ghosh, Chittaranjan Das, Aurobindo Ghosh and Nilratan Sircar were among those linked to it. From this Council came the Bengal National College. In 1955, it became Jadavpur University. The university carries the legacy of the anti-British struggle.
In the 1960s, the Naxalbari movement deeply influenced the campus. After Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the Indian state gradually turned more authoritarian and fascist. Jadavpur students and teachers repeatedly rose against this. They protested against the new education policy of the central government. In 2014-15, the Hok Kolorob movement challenged state power. During Hok Kolorob, police entered the campus and attacked students brutally. When the Trinamool government was in power in West Bengal, it tried many ways to control Jadavpur. It failed every time. Neither the ABVP nor the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad could capture the students’ union. The union stayed with left-wing student organizations. When the state government stopped student union elections, students launched the ‘Hok Union’ movement.
The state also used media propaganda against Jadavpur. The university was branded anti-national and full of drug users. Some even linked students to terrorist activities. The state did not only use police. It used media to create a bad image of Jadavpur in the public mind. For a long time, mainstream media fought the state’s battle against the university. French Marxist thinker Louis Althusser called such institutions like media ‘ideological state apparatuses’. Both central and state governments also cut funding to weaken the university. Every attempt failed. Even during the Left Front government, Jadavpur students did not accept state dominance. They participated in the Singur and Nandigram movements.
The one reason the state keeps losing at Jadavpur is the students’ strong desire to resist. Whenever the state tries to interfere with the university’s autonomy, students build strong resistance. When mainstream media spreads propaganda against Jadavpur, students and teachers create a counter-narrative through intellectual work and writing. The famous Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci called this ‘counter-cultural hegemony’. Deep love for the university among students and many teachers also plays a big role.
Despite all the propaganda, Jadavpur ranks first among all state universities in India and consistently places in the top 10 overall. It also holds strong global recognition. Renowned personalities like Amartya Sen, Buddhadeva Bose, Sankha Ghosh, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Alokranjan Dasgupta, Sukumari Bhattacharji and Rituparno Ghosh have been historically associated with this institution.
A core feature of education at Jadavpur University is the cultivation of critical thinking. Students do not accept anything blindly; they analyze everything critically, leading to high-quality research. They possess strong political awareness - standing for the oppressed and marginalized against state hegemony. They dream of changing society. They dream of building a better society. This combination of revolutionary political consciousness and critical thinking allows Jadavpur students to challenge state power continuously. As a result, hegemonic powers are defeated again and again, making Jadavpur University their ‘Waterloo’.
Nazrul Ahmed Zamader is PhD Scholar at Jadavpur University
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