Almost two weeks have passed since the state of Kerala mourned the death of Abhimanyu, the 20-year-old Students Federation of India (SFI) leader of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. A new batch of students has joined the college and life may have started to get back to normal at this popular college in Ernakulam.
However, what Abhimanyu wrote on the wall, which is the alleged reason that motivated the killers to murder him, is more likely to remain there, or like how his fellow comrades at Maharaja's say, “This wall will go down in history."
Paying tributes to their comrade, SFI has decided that the wall where he wrote, ‘Let communalism die’, with red paint, should be preserved for years to come as a reminder to everything that Abhimanyu and SFI stood for.
Talking to TNM, SFI’s Ernakulam area secretary, Arsho, said, “We have framed the wall with glass and made it a memorial for Abhimanyu.”
He added, “What he wrote on that wall is something that all students of this college stand for. Everyone coming to this college should be reminded of Abhimanyu. This is to show that he will continue to live among us.”
"This wall is going to be a part of our history,” said Jishnu, an SFI activist at Maharaja’s college. “We would like to safeguard it like a historical monument.”
Malayalam film director, Aashiq Abu, who is also an alumnus of Maharaja's college had put up a post on Facebook regarding the use of the wall as a memorial.
"Let your words stand without being erased or vanished. Generations will shout your slogan - Let communalism die!", said Aashiq in his post.
Over the last two weeks, a lot has been discussed and spoken about this young man, his passion, interests and background.
A recent Facebook post by the Maharaja’s wing of SFI reveals that Abhimanyu wanted to set up a library in his village, Vattavada, in Idukki district.
“Abhimanyu had voiced out this idea of having a library during various Grama Sabha and panchayat development seminars,” read the Facebook post.
“Within a month, his dream of having a library in his village will come true,” said SFI Maharaja's in their post.
The post had also said that the panchayat governing committee decided to name the library Abhimanyu Maharaja’s Library.
“SFI has started collecting books for this cause. As of now, we will be donating over 10,000 books to the library,” Jishnu told TNM.
The Facebook post also invited people to donate books to the library, and send it to Vattavada Grama panchayat.
Abhimanyu was killed when SFI students and Campus Front of India (Student Wing of PFI) workers allegedly clashed inside the campus on July 1. According to reports, the incident was triggered by an argument over sticking posters within the campus by the two groups. Abhimanyu was painting the walls of the campus to welcome the new batch of students, whose classes were to begin on July 2.
Following the murder, the Kerala police began a massive crackdown on SDPI/PFI activists, who are alleged to have been behind the murder. Latest reports by The New Indian Express state that the police have arrested two more members of the PFI, raising the number of people arrested to nine.