Cambridge SU has pledged to campaign for a dedicated Hindu place of worship, after a motion was approved at this week’s University Council (22/01).

The motion was passed on Monday evening with twenty-six votes for, zero against, and four abstentions. The policy was proposed by PhD student Yugal Kishore.

The SU motion argues that the Hindu student population is the third largest faith-based community within the University, yet is currently without an exclusive faith space in any college.

Vareesh Pratap, the SU’s postgraduate president, seconded the motion. He told Varsity that this will provide Hindu students with a “true sense of inclusion, offering the long-missed opportunity for their spiritual well-being”.

The motion passed after adjustments were attempted in a previous SU Student Council meeting. In November 2023, clarification was needed for whether the motion stood for an increase in multi-faith spaces or was specific to Hindu worship.

One BME officer suggested that in line with attempts for inter-faith harmony a general multi-faith space be proposed instead.

The SU’s postgraduate president clarified that the motion was for obtaining at least one Hindu faith space for the community. He pointed to private practices which make Hindu worship incompatible with multi-faith spaces. It was requested that the University work with the City Council to make this possible.

Speaking to Varsity, Pratap noted that the discussion with the BME officer was a “constructive contribution, perfectly aligned with democratic values”.

“The university has a responsibility to ensure that the diversity of its student membership is recognized, and equal access is available to all student members regardless of origin or orientation,” the motion reads.

The paper also notes that not having a prayer space is “adversely impacting” Hindu members of the university’s experiences as students.

The multicultural nature of the city means that accessible prayer spaces are imperative for securing “genuine equality, diversity and inclusion,” the proposal also notes.

The final SU resolutions included a commitment to lobby alongside the university to make new arrangements, to have a space of worship within walking distance from any of the U Bus stops, and to “campaign against faith-based microaggressions and acts of violence or harassment”.