All have the right to voice their opinion
Atul Kumar Anjaan
It is unfortunate that a non-issue is being turned into an issue by the Government of India. Jawaharlal Nehru University is a centre of excellence and a premier institute of the country. The students of JNU have always expressed their views on national and international issues. While there can be agreement or disagreement on any given issue, in a vibrant democracy everyone has the right to speak and express their views and anger in a constructive manner.
In a democracy, ideas are ventilated through different forms of expression — writing, speaking, demonstrating, shouting slogans and through debates and seminars. That has been the tradition. However, from time to time, this freedom is being opposed by the rulers of the day. The same thing happened in JNU.
It’s a matter of concern that the Union government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party has, once again, shown its intolerance and acted in haste by branding their political opponents as anti-national.
The charge of sedition has been slapped on the JNU students’ union chief Kanhaiya Kumar.
Mr Kumar belongs to the organisation called All-India Students’ Federation (AISF) which has a long history of fighting against imperialism and working for the unity and integrity of the country.
The (Communist Party of India-affiliated) AISF was formed in the midst of the Freedom Movement in 1936 to fight against British imperialism and its leaders played a very significant role during the freedom struggle and many of them became paramount leaders in later days.
More than hundred activists of this organisation became leaders of the CPI. They laid down their lives fighting anti-national forces and fought for national unity. In Punjab, more than 3,000 Left leaders were killed by terrorists for raising the banner of national unity and integrity.
BJP leaders, including party chief Amit Shah and home minister Rajnath Singh, have made allegations that do not hold any ground. In fact, their comments reflect their ignorance of the Freedom Movement. The Jan Sangh and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were not part of the Freedom Movement and none of these leaders went to jail or got imprisoned while fighting for this country.
The British sent more than 600 freedom fighters to Cellular Jail for life, of which around 350, after coming out of jail, formed the CPI.
The president of the Ghadar Party, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, was a CPI leader. We have many such examples of our leaders who have been arrested and hanged while fighting to liberate India.
So the charges of anti-national activities made by Mr Singh are entirely baseless and he should immediately withdraw his comments.
If the BJP does not apologise and withdraw its allegations then it will just be conclusive proof that they are a bunch of twisters of truth.
Atul Kumar Anjaan is a senior CPI leader
Nobody can be above the nation
Rakesh Sinha
The Jawaharlal Nehru University incident is an eye-opener for more than one reason. Anti-India slogans, with a war cry to continue the struggle till India is broken in 10 or more parts, were raised in a so-called cultural evening organised at JNU by a Left-wing students’ organisation, but was attended by the cadres of all shades of the Left movement.
The speakers called the hanging of Afzal Guru, the 2001 Parliament attack convict, judicial killing. The agenda of the cultural evening was glorification of Afzal Guru and showing their love and loyalty for Pakistan, which was obvious by their slogan, “Long Live Pakistan”. The slogan reflected the ideology and the force behind the students. Unfortunately, instead of showing solidarity with the Indian state, the Opposition parties — in their paranoia of RSS-BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi — forgot the distinction between nation-state and the government.
Can any sovereign state allow disruptive groups to campaign for its Balkanisation? For the Indian Left, it is not far fetched. Their history is replete with instances of sabotaging the nation’s unity and integrity, least to say her pride.
It is the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which legitimised the two-nation theory and gave it its full support, both in theory and practice in the late 1940s. Its resolution in support of Pakistani nationality is known as Gangadhar Adhikari resolution.
CPI(M) has no regret for its past deeds. The JNU incident gave birth to many trivial incidents and the Leftists, being masters in the art of propaganda, are trying to shift the focus from the seditious acts to law and order and procedural issues. However, they are unlikely to get public sympathy or support. The chorus definitely obstructed investigation and acted as a deterrent in finding out the leaders of the anti-India campaign.
Another reason for the crackdown given by the Leftists and their ilk was that it was a sinister effort to discredit and defame JNU and kill its critical tradition of debate and discussions. Can Cambridge or Harvard University allow people to glorify Osama bin Laden and raise slogans to split America in 10 parts?
Who is stopping anyone from debating the nationality question or throwing mud on the RSS and
Mr Modi? The Left has been consistently abusing the RSS and Mr Modi by calling him the perpetrator of “genocide in Gujarat” and “Hindu fascist”. Government policies are being opposed. Nobody called that seditious, and no one was censored or threatened. But the same impunity can’t be extended to an attack on the Indian state. It is ironical that JNU claims monopoly on critical traditions, debate and discussions. This is not a trait exclusive to the JNU; it is in the DNA of the nation.
It is pertinent to quote a Vedic verse — “Vade vade jayate tatv bodha” — that declaims uniformity of thought and reinforces diversities. The Opposition parties betrayed their commitment to nationality for the sake of discrediting the government. This also exposed Leftist elites who are disconnected with the psychology and feelings of the Indian masses.
Rakesh Sinha heads a RSS think tank
