Online Desk: The portrayal of Muslims as criminals in a cultural procession held by Bodoland University in Assam’s Kokrajhar has sparked outrage with a student group demanding action and an apology from the organiser.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows two tied men in Muslim attire, sporting a beard and using skullcaps, are being beaten up by a man in police uniform. The cultural procession was held by the history department of the university on Saturday on “Bodo Legendary Heroes” on the occasion of Thulunga festival.

Since the controversial video surfaced, people have expressed their anger and registered protest against the act and the university. Jalaluddin, President of Muslim Student Union of Assam (MSUA), has demanded action against those who are involved in the act.

“We do not understand why a higher educational institute tried to portray Muslims as criminals. We condemned the attitude of the Bodoland University for such a humiliation. The entire community is not responsible for an act of a certain person,” he said in a statement.

Jalaluddin further said: “We will wait for two days. If the university authorities do not clarify the issue, we will lodge an FIR against them. It is unfortunate that the incident took place when Pramod Boro is the chief of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). We also demand the BTR administration to take action against the involved persons”.

Following a massive outrage over the derogatory portrayal, the student union of Bodoland University issued a statement on Sunday justifying the act. Bodoland University Students’ Union said that their intent was “solely to shed light on the prevailing social dynamics without any prejudices or bias towards any particular community”.

“Through this press release, we wish to emphasise that there was no intention to marginalise or disparage any community. Our primary objective was to illustrate the present-day societal landscape of any community affiliation,” read the statement.

However, their clarification did not pacify the anger against the act. People on social media are also demanding action while calling the act as “Islamophobic”.

“This shameful act at Bodoland University perpetuates the dehumanisation of Muslims and has no place in any society. Such displays of hatred only deepen divisions and must be condemned unequivocally,” said an X influencer Zaman.