Students protest the violence by ABVP at Ramjas College. Credit: Nandini Sundar

The blatant acts of thuggery that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad unleashed at Ramjas College, Delhi University this week is an attack on the idea of the university, on reason and wisdom, on the rights enshrined in the Constitution, and on the very idea of India.

Though India as we know it will be imperilled without democracy, the ABVP – the BJP's students' wing – believes its attacks on democracy are somehow in the service of the nation. The organisation says it was objecting to the presence of two of the invitees at a literary event on campus but the methods it employed is proof that its real aim is to force conformity on students and academic institutions and stop them from criticising or even debating official policies.

The Ramjas College violence is the clearest sign yet of what is in store for the country if such politically-sanctioned hooliganism remains unchecked. First, the ABVP violently disrupted the literary event and forced not just the cancellation of Umar Khalid's talk but the entire programme. Next, it attacked students in and around the college who had gathered peacefully to protest this assault on their democratic rights. The failure of the police to defend the victims of these unprovoked attacks is also, unfortunately part of a worrying trend evident across the country. Whenever an organisation affiliated to the ruling party at the Centre or state or enjoying the blessings of an influential leader violently objects to a lecture or film or play or exhibition, the police end up giving in to its intimidation. In Delhi too, the police's role was shameful as it treated the ABVP goons with kid gloves – just as it had allowed BJP activists to go on the rampage outside the Patiala House courts when Kanhaiya Kumar was to be produced for a hearing. The failure of Delhi University's administrators to take a stand in defence of their students is also deeply disturbing.

Universities must be sanctuaries where young minds can develop and be nurtured in an atmosphere that is free from violence and intimidation. If the government is unwilling to respect the idea of a university, other cherished ideas will all soon fall by the wayside.