Delhi ‘anti-pollution’ protest: Scientists For Society distances itself from Hidma slogans, but its own pro-Naxal, pro-Palestine and anti-Hindu stance stands exposed
The violence that took place during the so-called anti-pollution protests, where demonstrators glorified slain Naxal commander Madvi Hidma and attacked police with pepper spray, has attracted Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the attackers, which deals with acts, statements or communications that threaten India’s sovereignty, unity, integrity or security. Twenty-two attackers were booked and fifteen are currently in judicial remand. While the attackers are facing strict legal action, the digital footprint of the organisations associated with the organising groups has revealed a problematic past. Delhi Police has added BNS section 197 in the FIR registered at Kartavya Path Police Station in connection with India Gate protest: Delhi Police As per the Delhi Police, "The protesters were holding posters of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma (who was recently killed in the…— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2025 On 23 November, a group of protesters gathered at C-Hexagon near India Gate to demonstrate against rising pollution in Delhi. The protest was spearheaded by left-leaning student organisations, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM) and The Himkhand, which had invited several other organisations to join. Although the protest was ostensibly about pollution, it soon morphed into propaganda as members of The Himkhand and bsCEM raised pro-Naxal slogans. They glorified the recently killed Naxal commander Madvi Hidma and shouted slogans such as “Comrade Hidma Amar Rahe”. When the police tried to intervene, the protesters not only attacked police personnel but also used pepper spray on them, causing injuries to the eyes and face. As a result, two FIRs were registered against 22 protesters, of whom 16 were arrested. Fifteen were sent to judicial remand by Patiala House Court on Monday, while one was sent to a juvenile safe house after claiming to be a minor. Furthermore, Section 197 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been added to the FIRs which deals with acts, statements or communications that threaten India’s sovereignty, unity, integrity or security. Scientists For Society distances itself While gathering support for the protests, bsCEM and The Himkhand contacted several other organisations that have similar ideological leanings. One such organisation was Scientists For Society. After the protests were derailed from the intended topic on Sunday, the organisation issued a statement distancing itself from the pro-Naxal slogans raised at the site that led to the violence, the attack on the police and the arrests. Source: Instagram In its statement, the organisation said, “We want to clarify that we joined this forum solely on the issue of pollution when we were approached by Himkhand. At no point were we informed that Himkhand and bsCEM planned to raise any unrelated or adventurist slogans. As soon as we realised what was happening, we first tried to stop them; when they refused to respond, we immediately distanced ourselves from them and continued addressing the common people and carrying forward the protest separately. We also want to reiterate that this act on part of these aforementioned organisations is completely undemocratic, totally against the ethics, mandate and common minimum programme of the issue-based joint front based on the issue of pollution crisis in Delhi.” The organisation’s problematic stance on Hidma While the organisation distanced itself from the “adventurist slogans” glorifying Madvi Hidma, it cunningly called the killing of the most wanted Naxal an “extrajudicial killing”. Even before distancing itself from the slogans, Scientists For Society categorically called for a “high-level inquiry” into the “extra-judicial encounters of Hidma and his associate”. Source: Instagram They said, “While we strongly believe that there should be a high-level inquiry into the extra-judicial encounters of Hidma and his associates and we unequivocally condemn these encounters, we also believe that this was not the appropriate platform to raise this issue. Ordinary students and citizens had joined this protest specifically to address the issue of pollution.” Examining the organisation’s ideology OpIndia looked into the history of the organisation, which started posting on social media around November 2020, to understand its ideology and the campaigns it had participated in previously, and some problematic things came to the fore. While the organisation claimed to be pro-science and stated that it works to encourage students to pursue science, build libraries and more, there are posts that categorically put them in the list of left-leaning organisations. Of course, while it is a fact that if bsCEM and The Himkhand had invited them, it was obvious that they shared similar ideology. Pro-Palestine narrative On 8 November, the organisation published a post that it claimed was about pollution in Delhi. However, during the protests, they admitted to having
The violence that took place during the so-called anti-pollution protests, where demonstrators glorified slain Naxal commander Madvi Hidma and attacked police with pepper spray, has attracted Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the attackers, which deals with acts, statements or communications that threaten India’s sovereignty, unity, integrity or security. Twenty-two attackers were booked and fifteen are currently in judicial remand. While the attackers are facing strict legal action, the digital footprint of the organisations associated with the organising groups has revealed a problematic past.
Delhi Police has added BNS section 197 in the FIR registered at Kartavya Path Police Station in connection with India Gate protest: Delhi Police
— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2025
As per the Delhi Police, "The protesters were holding posters of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma (who was recently killed in the…
On 23 November, a group of protesters gathered at C-Hexagon near India Gate to demonstrate against rising pollution in Delhi. The protest was spearheaded by left-leaning student organisations, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM) and The Himkhand, which had invited several other organisations to join.
Although the protest was ostensibly about pollution, it soon morphed into propaganda as members of The Himkhand and bsCEM raised pro-Naxal slogans. They glorified the recently killed Naxal commander Madvi Hidma and shouted slogans such as “Comrade Hidma Amar Rahe”. When the police tried to intervene, the protesters not only attacked police personnel but also used pepper spray on them, causing injuries to the eyes and face.
As a result, two FIRs were registered against 22 protesters, of whom 16 were arrested. Fifteen were sent to judicial remand by Patiala House Court on Monday, while one was sent to a juvenile safe house after claiming to be a minor. Furthermore, Section 197 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been added to the FIRs which deals with acts, statements or communications that threaten India’s sovereignty, unity, integrity or security.
Scientists For Society distances itself
While gathering support for the protests, bsCEM and The Himkhand contacted several other organisations that have similar ideological leanings. One such organisation was Scientists For Society. After the protests were derailed from the intended topic on Sunday, the organisation issued a statement distancing itself from the pro-Naxal slogans raised at the site that led to the violence, the attack on the police and the arrests.
In its statement, the organisation said, “We want to clarify that we joined this forum solely on the issue of pollution when we were approached by Himkhand. At no point were we informed that Himkhand and bsCEM planned to raise any unrelated or adventurist slogans. As soon as we realised what was happening, we first tried to stop them; when they refused to respond, we immediately distanced ourselves from them and continued addressing the common people and carrying forward the protest separately. We also want to reiterate that this act on part of these aforementioned organisations is completely undemocratic, totally against the ethics, mandate and common minimum programme of the issue-based joint front based on the issue of pollution crisis in Delhi.”
The organisation’s problematic stance on Hidma
While the organisation distanced itself from the “adventurist slogans” glorifying Madvi Hidma, it cunningly called the killing of the most wanted Naxal an “extrajudicial killing”. Even before distancing itself from the slogans, Scientists For Society categorically called for a “high-level inquiry” into the “extra-judicial encounters of Hidma and his associate”.
They said, “While we strongly believe that there should be a high-level inquiry into the extra-judicial encounters of Hidma and his associates and we unequivocally condemn these encounters, we also believe that this was not the appropriate platform to raise this issue. Ordinary students and citizens had joined this protest specifically to address the issue of pollution.”
Examining the organisation’s ideology
OpIndia looked into the history of the organisation, which started posting on social media around November 2020, to understand its ideology and the campaigns it had participated in previously, and some problematic things came to the fore. While the organisation claimed to be pro-science and stated that it works to encourage students to pursue science, build libraries and more, there are posts that categorically put them in the list of left-leaning organisations. Of course, while it is a fact that if bsCEM and The Himkhand had invited them, it was obvious that they shared similar ideology.
Pro-Palestine narrative
On 8 November, the organisation published a post that it claimed was about pollution in Delhi. However, during the protests, they admitted to having expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine.
One of the speakers at the protest spoke about pollution in Delhi and then continued to criticise the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for suggesting there is no problem of pollution. He then brought up the issue of Palestine and said, “The biggest example today is the liberation struggle of Palestinians against the ongoing barbaric genocide. Scientists For Society along with other organisations stand in solidarity with Palestine because we cannot talk about environment without standing with the masses, without standing with humanity.”
He then praised controversial environment activist Greta Thunberg and echoed her statement that there is no use talking about climate change when thousands of children are dying on the other side. He also raised the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Greta Thunberg is known for participating in every protest even if it is not about the environment just for the sake of a photo-op. During the farmer protests in India, she accidentally shared a toolkit that was being used to paint India in a bad light on the international platform. Though she immediately deleted the link to the toolkit, it exposed how the farmer protests were hijacked by individuals and organisations with vested agendas.
The organisation has a long history of a pro-Palestine stance. On 23 October, it criticised esSENSE for “denying genocide in Gaza”.
The genocidal implication of the slogan
Coming to the pro-Palestine slogans raised by the members of SFS, “From the river to the sea” is literally a genocidal call. It specifically alludes to the territory situated between the Jordan River, marking the eastern border of Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
People raising this slogan want the land between the two boundaries to be free of Jewish people. They want the entire land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea to be Palestine, which means they want the elimination of the state of Israel. This is clearly a call for genocide of Jews, essentially another Holocaust.
The Islamist ideology behind the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is often seen as an intent of genocide. In 1966, Hafez al-Assad, the Syrian leader and father of the country’s current dictator, stated, “We shall only accept war and the restoration of the usurped land to oust you, aggressors, and throw you into the sea for good.”
Terrorist outfit Hamas, responsible for the deaths of 1,400 people on 7 October, asserts its rejection of Israel with the statement, “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” as outlined in the organisation’s 2017 constitution.
Targeting Hindus and Diwali
On 2 November, the organisation criticised the Government of Delhi for allowing fireworks on Diwali, which was actually allowed by the Supreme Court on the government’s request. The aim of the post was not only to criticise the CM Rekha Gupta-led BJP government in the National National Capital but also to present the Hindu festival of Diwali as a major contributor to the pollution problem. Phrases like “Godi Media” were also used in the post against media houses that left-leaning organisations believe are pro-government.
Targeting Hindus and Diwali, the organisation wrote, “How could this even be possible? After all, how can a ‘Hindu’ government in a country of ‘Hindus’ stop ‘Hindu festivals’ from being celebrated, even if it means ordinary people, such as those living in Delhi NCR, fall ill or even lose their lives?”
In the aftermath of the violence, several organisations that enthusiastically joined the so-called anti-pollution protest are now scrambling to shield themselves from police action by hurriedly disowning the pro-Hidma sloganeering. Yet their own digital footprints tell a very different story. Their posts, statements and past campaigns reveal that they all belong to the same ideological cult, united by a familiar script of Naxal sympathy, Palestine activism and routine Hindu-baiting. No amount of last-minute distancing can erase what their own public record has already made abundantly clear.
