Category Archives: Politics

Bad ideas, Culture, Education, Everyday Life, Left watch, Metropolis, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Delhi Stands With JNU Students and Against the Evil Modi Regime

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“Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are...”-

Bertholt Brecht

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This afternoon saw an amazing, uplifting show of peaceful, joyful strength by students, young people, teachers, friends in Delhi, in support of JNU, in memory of Rohith Vemula, in solidarity with Kanhaiya, Umar and all the students in JNU who are being so stellar in their principled opposition to this evil, venal Modi regime. Reports of massive protests are coming in from Kolkata, Russia to and elsewhere. Something is changing in the air.
It was a perfect spring afternoon, overcast like our times, but breezy like our morale. There must have been at least 15,000 people on the march today. We met old and long lost friends and made new ones.

The gathering was totally peaceful. Young  women and men, student profits from JNU in the eighties, grey haired, felt young again as their student held aloft flowers, flags, signs and homemade banners. Everyone looked their best, as if they had come to a massive street party.

It was so infectious, the mood this afternoon, such a contrast to the vile bad temper of the men who attacked Kanhaiya and his supporters two days in a row at the Patiala House Courts two days in a row that the difference between two entirely different visions of politics was palpable on your skin. The contrast sent a clear message to all our senses.

The RSS-ABVP-BJP brand of politics is diseased. It’s on its last legs and that is why it is so desperate. It cannot perform, it has no ideas, it is morally and culturally bankrupt.

Universities are in crisis and all that the bad TV actress who makes a joke of her ministry (HRS) every day can think of today while thousands March against her and her boss is about sticking giant flagpoles into the ground and stitching gigantic silk shrouds for her  government and her party.

Modi, Rajnath and Manusmriti Irani should quake in fear. Their time is up.

Very proud of JNU students and the people of Delhi today.

#StandwithJNU #StandwithKanhaiya

#StandwithUmar

#Standwithallstudents

#NowitchHuntofStudents

Bad ideas, Debates, Education, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Language, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics

Solidarity with JNU and Conversations on Kashmir: JKCCS

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Guest Post by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society

Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) expresses its solidarity with the striking students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. We have watched with a sense of horror and dismay, the violent criminalizing of student democracy and dissent, not just at Jawaharlal Nehru University but across Indian campuses in the recent past. Having long and intimate knowledge of violent repression and legalized impunity that Indian state is capable of, especially against those it considers ‘anti-national’ we are not surprised by these events, but have a special empathy with all who suffer its horrors. We demand the release of all student dissenters and political prisoners in the custody of the Indian state, and an end to acts of policing and surveillance on campuses, and targeting of students on the basis of political beliefs and speech.

The Kashmiri students in different colleges and universities in India, who have always faced discrimination and intimidation time to time, are now feeling the extreme regressive and oppressive means used by right wing groups and the government. After being hounded, Kashmiri students have begun leaving Delhi. There are several places where the landlords, in whose properties Kashmiri students were renting flats, have asked the students to vacate. These experiences of Kashmiri students are part of the larger reality faced by Kashmiri youth in Jammu and Kashmir and in India. The voices of dissent in Jammu and Kashmir have been dealt with administrative detentions under Public Safety Act, illegal detentions, torture, surveillance and killings by armed forces including the most recent one of Asif and Shaista at Pulwama on 14th of February.

We also view with alarm, the reports about the cynical use of Kashmiri students studying in Delhi as hostages in the politically illegitimate process of government formation in Srinagar.

We are dismayed that the public narrative about the recent events has often descended into disputes over Indian ‘patriotism’ and the shrill condemnation of a few ‘fringe’ ‘radical’ ‘traitors’ for ‘irresponsible’ slogans. These sentiments are neither mere slogans nor represent the ‘fringe’ in Kashmir, the very place they were made in reference to. As Kashmiris, we believe that the right to self-determination is inseparable from the right to political association, dissent and free expression, and these rights cannot be selectively asserted or upheld. In the competitive public proclamations of nationalistic credentials, what has been lost is that courageous act of defiant solidarity with the Kashmiri people’s struggle for justice and self-determination, that lies at the heart of these debates. Despite the disavowals and the state repression, the solidarity with the political rights of the Kashmiris is growing and spreading, as events in Jadavpur University demonstrate. We acknowledge the emerging spaces in Indian civil society to converse on the question of Kashmir, beyond nationalist framings. We hold out hope for future alliances with students, groups and individuals willing to engage in honest conversations, in which they alone do not determine the boundaries of what can or cannot be said, thought or felt.

Spokesperson
JKCCS

Culture, Debates, Ecology/Environment, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Excavation, Frontiers, Government, Identities, Images, Language, Movements, Politics, Theory

“A Glorious Thing Made Up Of Stardust:” What Pat Parker & Rohith Vemula Ask Us to Consider Lata Mani

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This is a guest post by LATA MANI

The first thing you do is to forget that I’m black
Second, you must never forget that I’m black

Pat Parker (1978)

In these opening lines of her poem, For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to be My Friend, Pat Parker names a paradox at the heart of challenging socially produced difference. Parker is speaking not to diversity in nature, nor to the diversity of nature. Not to the variations of appearance – size, shade, height, foliage, texture; or mode of expression – hoot, howl, accent, gesture, cultural practices. Her lines address a uniquely human phenomenon: prejudice. They speak to the poignant difficulty of challenging a spurious and malevolent construction of racial difference in a society still in the grip of its miasma.

I have recalled Parker’s lines many times in the days of sorrow, tumult and righteous rage that have followed Rohith Vemula’s suicide. “Rohith Vemula’s suicide.” I am holding off from saying “Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide.” Or, as is now being said with good reason, “Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s institutional murder.” I defer by a couple of sentences a description of him that refers to the caste into which he was born; to honour if only symbolically his anguish that the contingent facts of his birth had indelibly defined his life.

Continue reading “A Glorious Thing Made Up Of Stardust:” What Pat Parker & Rohith Vemula Ask Us to Consider Lata Mani →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Education, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Images, Language, Law, Metropolis, Politics, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

JNU Teachers Statement

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After the arrest of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar on 12 February and the entry of the police into JNU Campus, the situation has worsened for our students over the last few days. Sections of the mainstream and social media have carried unsubstantiated rumours targeting students, and organised groups have been making threats against them and indulging in hate speech in order to intimidate. The viciousness of this section of the media and amounts to a public trial and the frightening abuses being hurled at them make us feel deeply concerned for their personal safety and possibilities of their obtaining justice.

We strongly condemn these acts that create an environment of extreme prejudice and potential violence. We demand that the campus be allowed to return to normalcy at the soonest, so that students can return to their regular academic life in an atmosphere of trust and safety. The slander campaign against the University based on unsubstantiated claims not only tarnishes JNU’s image as one of best regarded institutions of higher education in the country, it also destroys JNU’s peaceful academic life. We are deeply concerned about the students’ future, which is being affected by this malicious campaign against JNU.

We the teachers of JNU wish that the Indian people should see through this orchestrated design to transform JNU into a space which will be unable to encourage or sustain critical thinking, so vital to the functioning of our democracy and our nation. It will also endanger the futures of thousands of students who are uncertain about the consequences that such a sustained campaign will have on their futures. We call upon the broadest possible sections of the Indian people to preserve the character of this much cherished national institution.

 C.P. Chandrasekhar

G. Arunima

Ayesha Kidwai

Udaya Kumar

Pratiksha Baxi

Chirashree Dasgupta

Saradindu Bhaduri

Rajat Datta

Vinay Kumar Ambedkar

Ranjani Mazumdar

Jayati Ghosh

Navaneetha Mokkil

Rohith Azad

Ameet Parameswaran

Joy Pachuau

Yashadatta Alone

Rajarshi Dasgupta

Mohan Rao

Vikas Bajpai

Sujatha V

Parul Mukherjee

Ramila Bisht

Surinder Jodhka

Happymon Jacob

Supriya Varma

Mallarika Sinha Roy

Parnal Chirmuley

Nivedita Menon

Hemant Adlakha

Lata Singh

Urmimala Sarkar

Rajib Dasgupta

Rama Baru

Prachin Ghodajkar

Vikas Rawal

Partho Datta

Papia Sengupta

Ira Bhaskar

Sandesha Rayipa-Garbiyal

Veena Hariharan

Pradipta Bandyopadhyay

Biswajit Dhar

Neera Kongari

Geetha Nambissan

Brahma Prakash

Brinda Bose

Maitrayee Chaudhuri

Rashmi Barua

 

 

 

 

 

Education, Frontiers, Mirror Worlds, Politics

Letter of Solidarity to the Students of JNU, India: Democratic Students’ Alliance, Pakistan

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Guest Post by Democratic Students’ Alliance, Pakistan

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17th February, 2016

Dear Student friends of JNU, Delhi

 

The issue of academic freedom is one that is tied to the essence of education itself: to think, to question, to speak and probe, to understand, to challenge and to learn.

The strangulation of political and academic freedoms is a dark hallmark of despotic and authoritarian societies and governments which aim to silence and subjugate. State intrusion in intellectual spaces is an assault on democratic rights and liberties; academic freedom must not be subordinated to state agendas. We believe that political freedoms are central to a democratic state and that their suspension leads to nothing but danger.

Continue reading Letter of Solidarity to the Students of JNU, India: Democratic Students’ Alliance, Pakistan →

Ecology/Environment, Politics, Right watch

Police Commissioner Bassi – His Master’s Voice

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Mr Bassi said to the press:

“Investigation is on. And after identifying the people, action will be taken as per the law. O.P. Sharma said that he was injured. If I may use the term it was a little surcharged environment. Allegations and counter allegations have been levelled from both the sides. So, we have registered FIR in both episodes.”

There were no “two episodes”. There was one – of unprovoked violence by a mob.

I was one of those inside the courtroom, and if I may use the term Mr Bassi, your lack of professionalism and your bias is a little too evident. The atmosphere was not surcharged until hordes of Sanghis suddenly poured into Court No. 4 Patiala House, in what is now clear was a pre-planned attack mobilized through a WhatsApp message.

400x400_MIMAGE98e0dccf14d6e4af014ec57d53e8965c

Continue reading Police Commissioner Bassi – His Master’s Voice →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Education, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Language, Law, Left watch, Media politics, Metropolis, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

Statements of Solidarity For JNU From Various Quarters

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We at Kafila have been receiving amazing statements of solidarity with JNU and its elected students’ President Kanhaiya Kumar over the past three days. We are posting them below, along with affiliations: South Asia University (teachers and students); Grinnell College, USA, Ambedkar University Delhi Faculty Association, Democratic Teachers Network, Hyderabad, and over a hundred students from Department of English, Delhi University.

 

STUDENTS OF SOUTH ASIA UNIVERSITY

We, the students of South Asian University, New Delhi (comprising of students from eight SAARC nations – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) strongly oppose the idea that one’s nationalism be defined in terms of hatred towards another nation (for example, Indian nationalism be defined as hatred towards Pakistan, or vice versa). We cherish the common cultural and social heritage of the South Asian region, and shall not let any kind of jingoist nationalism being endorsed by any religious group, political party or state hinder our shared solidarity. However, in recent times, such groups and establishments have unleashed an attack on democratic and critical voices in our universities across the South Asian region, masked under religious conformity, state intervention or sometimes in the form of an act of terrorism.

Thus, we stand in complete solidarity with the student and faculty community of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in their collective struggle against the ongoing police intervention by slapping the baseless charges of sedition on many students, including the arrest of JNUSU President – Kanhaiya Kumar, and against the massive propaganda terming the JNU as ‘a den of anti-nationals’. We would like to reiterate that our collective nationalism stands responsible only to the interests of our people and our land, and not to the divisive forces which have had and are still trying to create boundaries between us.

STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH STUDENT PROTESTS IN INDIA, FROM STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF OF GRINNELL COLLEGE

Grinnell-JNU Solidarity

Continue reading Statements of Solidarity For JNU From Various Quarters →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Education, Government, Identities, Images, Language, Law, Left watch, Media politics, Metropolis, Movements, Politics, Religion, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

On framing JNU for an imaginary crime: Aditya Sarkar

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This is a guest post by ADITYA SARKAR

JNU has entered an indefinite state of siege. Police have been swarming all over campus, raiding hostels, picking up students and interrogating them. The ABVP, predictably, have been directing them to the lairs of ‘anti-national elements’. When immense demonstrations of public solidarity with the accused students were organized, ABVP activists have attacked these, in one case mounting a violent physical assault on a visiting speaker. The JNU administration has gone to the extent of cutting off the power supply to the microphones used at a protest meeting. At Patiala House on Monday the 15th of February, the BJP’s MLAs and what appear to be a group of lawyers have assaulted JNU students, faculty and supporters in full view of the police, with what can only be regarded as smug impunity. More than one observer has remarked that this is the Emergency all over again.

It is clear that the arrayed forces of the central government are pitted against a campus which has long been an object of hatred for the Right. There’s no telling how matters will develop in the days and weeks to come. So it might be necessary to step back a bit and consider the sequence of events that led to the current situation.

In the past month, JNU students organized a protest meeting which raised the issue of Kashmiri rights, and drew attention – just as Rohith Vemula’s protest in Hyderabad had done – to the execution of Afzal Guru in 2013. Since the mainstream news outlets systematically censor any attempt to reopen that extremely murky case, it’s worth reminding ourselves of precisely why the execution was so controversial. The terrorist attack on Parliament in December 2001 produced a police investigation on which serious doubt was cast from the beginning. Afzal Guru’s laptop and mobile phone, key pieces of evidence, had not been sealed prior to investigation. One of the other accused in the case, a Delhi University lecturer (who was later emphatically acquitted) was viciously framed by Zee News, which used the police charge-sheet to make a documentary ‘establishing’ his guilt. The court proceedings were even more revealing. The Supreme Court admitted that there was no hard evidence to conclusively establish Afzal Guru’s involvement in criminal conspiracy. But these admissions were merely qualifications to what was perhaps the most extraordinary decision in the history of the judiciary in independent India. Afzal Guru was eventually hanged in 2013 on the basis that only this would appease ‘the collective conscience of the nation society’.

Continue reading On framing JNU for an imaginary crime: Aditya Sarkar →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Education, Government, Identities, Images, Language, Media politics, Metropolis, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

JNU Bashing is an old pastime, but things just got much, much worse

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In light of the glorious vigilantism being witnessed today, in which the lumpen lawyers at Patiala House are joining hands with Guardian of the Nation Horn-nob Go-Swamy on primetime TV A few years ago, finding myself in a heated but very enjoyable argument on why women change their surnames after marriage, somebody yelled from across the room, “What has JNU done to you?!”

I wasn’t surprised, only annoyed. Reducing my entire biography and political beliefs to an institution I attended once upon a time is a favourite pastime in India, when that institution happens to be JNU. I could have explained to the genius who shouted this that if I do have political opinions, neither were they surgically implanted in me at JNU nor will they wither away like the bourgeois state in Marxism if JNU ceases to exist. I should have been grateful that the JNU-phobia was posed through the formal courtesy of a query. Usually, it takes the form of a statement, “You JNU folk are all lunatics!”

In family settings, JNU-bashing is the preferred insult to shut down an argument, “It’s the JNU in you speaking!” At seminars, a question or a paper can be made illegitimate with the simple investigative exercise of determining if you’re from ‘a particular institution with a particular ideology’. Of course, the person asking the question has miraculously escaped institutions and ideology, remaining gloriously neutral in this fractured world.

Continue reading JNU Bashing is an old pastime, but things just got much, much worse →

Capitalism, Centre watch, Culture, Debates, Education, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Identities, Media politics, Movements, Politics

Fearless Minds and Heads Held High: To the CDS Student Community

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Dear Friends

Ever since the Hindutva right-wing attacks on the country’s youthful citizens intensified – from the Kiss of Love protests to the attacks on politicized dalit youth on the campuses of IIT Madras and HCU, and now, against JNU – we have come together several times as a group to defend our right to critical thinking, action, and speech and protest against atrocities in the name of national interest and culture. We have come out not to defend our petty interests but in defense of the Indian Nation as we imagine it – differently from the right-wing – as belonging to  the communities of peasants, workers, students, artisans, dancers, singers, small traders, and thousands of other groups that contribute to the economy of this country, as the homeland of vast sections of underprivileged people denied humanity in the name of caste, class, culture, ethnicity and gender. Continue reading Fearless Minds and Heads Held High: To the CDS Student Community →

Everyday Life, Language, Law, Politics, Right watch

SOLIDARITY STATEMENT BY JNU ALUMNI AND INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC COMMUNITY

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The statement below represents the concerns of JNU’s international alumni, and a wider global academic community of friends and comrades. The support demonstrated by the names below testifies that JNU is far more than a besieged university campus in India. JNU stands for a vital imagination of the space of the university – an imagination that embraces critical thinking, democratic dissent, student activism, and the plurality of political beliefs. It is this critical imagination that the current establishment seeks to destroy. And we know that this is not a problem for India alone. Similar attacks on critical dissent and university spaces are being attempted and resisted across the world.

If you would like to stand in solidarity with the students and faculty of JNU, and the ethos of university spaces everywhere, please mention your name and current institutional affiliation in the ‘Comments’ section. Also, in case you are a JNU alumnus, please mention the year you graduated. This list will be regularly updated.

****SOLIDARITY STATEMENT****

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi against the illegal ongoing police action since February 9, 2016. With them, we affirm the autonomy of the university as a non-militarized space for freedom of thought and expression. Accordingly, we condemn police presence on campus and the harassment of students on the basis of their political beliefs.

The charge of sedition, under the guise of which the police have been given a carte blanche to enter the JNU campus, to raid student hostels, arrest and detain students, including Kanhaiya Kumar, the current president of the JNU Students Union, is an alibi for the incursion of an authoritarian regime onto the university campus. Under Indian law sedition applies only to words and actions that directly issue a call to violence. The peaceful demonstration and gathering of citizens does not constitute criminal conduct. The police action on JNU campus is illegal under the constitution of India.

An open, tolerant, and democratic society is inextricably linked to critical thought and expression cultivated by universities in India and abroad. As teachers, students, and scholars across the world, we are watching with extreme concern the situation unfolding at JNU and refuse to remain silent as our colleagues (students, staff, and faculty) resist the illegal detention and autocratic suspension of students. We urge the Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University to protect members of the university community and safeguard their rights.

 

Dated/- 15 February 2016

 

  1. Asma Abbas, Bard College at Simon’s Rock
  2. Syed Shahid Abbas, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, U.K.
  3. Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London
  4. Katie Addleman, University of Toronto
  5. Barun Adhikary, JNU
  6. Aniket Aga, Yale University Continue reading SOLIDARITY STATEMENT BY JNU ALUMNI AND INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC COMMUNITY →
Bad ideas, Debates, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Government, Images, Language, Mirror Worlds, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

The Tendency of the Price of Young Life to Fall and the Hope that it May Rise

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The war on young people continues. In this post we will only consider it’s arithmetic. Not even its algebra, simply its arithmetic.

I am prompted to do this by a strange acoustic co-incidence. While standing as part of a cordon of faculty and friends protecting the students of JNU on the public meeting on the 13th of April from a handful of ABVP activists who liked invoking blood and bullets in their slogans, I head one that stayed with me, and made me revisit a question that often bothers me.

lance-naik-hanumanthappa

This was the slogan ‘Hanumanthappa hum sharminda hain, tere qatil zinda hain’. (‘Hanumanthappa we are ashamed, your murders are still alive’ ). Lance Naik Hanumanthappa, as we all know now, was a thirty two year old soldier of the Indian army who survived six days under an avalanche on the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir and then died of multiple organ failure in a Delhi military hospital. His young body must have had a tremendous and a passionate yearning for life. Sometimes I think of what a fine father or husband or lover or friend a man who loved life so must have been, could have continued to have been.

Continue reading The Tendency of the Price of Young Life to Fall and the Hope that it May Rise →

Education, Politics, Right watch

JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar’s speech before being arrested

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See also in The Citizen Why Is The Media Not Reporting Kanhaiya’s Speech?

For English translation of Kanhaiya’s speech, see:

If anti-national means this, God save our country

JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar’s Speech: Full Transcript

(Devanagari transcript is forthcoming)

Hum hain is desh ke. Aur is mitti se pyar karte hain. Is desh ke andar jo assi pratishad garib aavam hai, hum uske liye ladte hain. Hamare liye yahi desh-hit hai. Humein pura bharosa hai Baba Saheb ke upar. Humein pura bharosa hai apne desh ke samvidhan ke upar. aur hum is baat ko pure mazbooti se kehna chahte hain ke is desh ki samvidhan pe koi ungli uthayega chahe voh ungli sanghiyon ka ho, chahe voh ungli kisi ka bhi ho us ungli ko hum bardasht nahin karenge. Hum samvidhan mein bharosa karte hain. Lekin jo samvidhan Nagpur aur jhandewalan mein padhaya jaata hai us samvidhan pe humko koi bharosa Nahin. Humko manusmriti pe koi bharosa nahin hai. Humko is desh ke andar jo jaativad hai us pe koi bharosa nahin hai. Aur vahi samvidhan, vahi Baba Saheb Doctor Bhimrao Ambedkar, samvidhan mein samvidhanik upchar ki baat karte hain. Vahi Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar capital punishment ko abolish karne ki baat karte hain. Vahi Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar freedom of expression ki baat karte hain. Aur hum us position ko uphold karte hue, jo hamara buniyadi adhikar hai, jo hamara constitutional right hai, hum usko uphold karna chahte hain.

Lekin yeh bade sharam ki baat hai, yeh bade dukh ki baat hai ki aaj ABVP apne media sahiyogiyon se pure mamle ko orchestrate kar raha hai. Pure mamle ko dilute kar raha hai. SHAME. Kal ABVP ke joint secretary ne kaha ki hum fellowship ke liye ladte hain. Kitna ridiculous lagta hai sunkar ke inki sarkar, madam Manusmriti Irani, fellowship ko khatam karti hai, aur hum fellowship ke liye ladh rahe hain. Inki sarkar higher education ke andar 17 percent budget ko cut kiya hai SHAME, jis se hamara hostel pichle chaar saalon mein nahin bana. Hostel ko wifi aaj tak nahin mila, aur ek bus diya BHEL ne to us mein tel daalne ke liye prashasan ke paas paisa nahin hai. SHAME. ABVP ke log roller ke saamne devanand ke tarah tasveer khicha kar kehte hain ki hum hostel banwa rahein hain. Hum wifi karva rahein hain. Hum fellowship badhva rahein hain. Inki polpatti khul jayegi saathiyon agar is desh mein buniyadi sawal pe charcha hogi. Aur mujhe garv hai JNUite hone pe ke hum bunyadi sawal pe charcha karte hain. Hum buniyadi sawal uthate hain. Aur isilye voh [Subramaniyum] Swami kehta hai ke JNU mein jihadi rehte hain. SHAME…voh kehta hai ke JNU ke log hinsa phelate hain.

SHAME

Main JNU se challenge karna chahta hun RSS ke pracharakon ko, ke bulao use aur karo hamare saath debate. Hum karna chahte hain hinsa ke concept pe debate. Aur hum sawal khada karna chahte hain, ABVP ke us daave par. ABVP ke manch se khade ho kar bolta hai besharam: “Khoon se tilak karenge goliyon se aarti.” Kiska khoon bahana chahete ho is mulk mein tum? Kis ka dehant chahte ho is mulk mein tum?

Tumne goliyan chalayi hain. Angrezon ke saath mil kar is desh ki azadi ke liye ladhne wale logon par goliyan chalayi hain. Is mulk ke andar garib jab apni roti ki baat karta hai, jab bhookmari se marte hue log apne haqq ki baat karte hain, tum un pe goli chalate ho. SHAME…Kis par goli chalayi hai tumne is mulk mein? Mussalmanon ke upar. Tumne chalayi goli is mulk mein…mahilayein jab apne adhikar ki baat kartin hain to tum kehte ho paanchon ungli barabar nahin ho sakti SHAME…tum kehte ho mahilaon ko sita ki tarah rehna chahiye aur sita ki tarah agni pariksha dena chahiye.

Is desh mein loktantra hai aur loktantra sabko barabari ka haqq deta hai. Chahe vo vidyarthi ho, chahe vo karamchari ho, chahe vo garib ho, mazdoor ho, kisan ho, ya Ambani ho, Adani ho, sabke haqq ki barabari ki baat karta hai. Us mein mahilayon ki barabari ki baat hum karte hain, to yeh kehte hain ki hum Bharati sanskriti ko barbad karna chahte hain. Hum barbad karna chahte hain shoshan ki sanskriti ko. Jaati-vaad ki sanskriti ko, manuvaad aur Bhramanvaad ki sanskriti ko. Aur aaj tak hamari sanskriti ki paribhasha tay nahin hui. Inko dikat kahan aata hai? Inko dikat aata hai jab is mulk ke log loktantra ki baat karte hain. Jab log laal salaam ke saath leela salaam lagate hain, jab Marx ke saath Dr Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ka naam lete hain. Jab Ashfaqulla ka naam liya jaata hai to inko pet mein darad hota hai.

Aur inki saajish hai, yeh Angrezon ke chamche hain. Lagao mere upar defamation ka case. Main kehta hun ke RSS ka itihas Angrezon ke saath khade hone ka itihaas hai. SHAME…Desh ke gaddar aaj deshbhakti ka certificate baant rahein hain. Mera mobile check kijiye saathiyon meri ma aur behen ko bhaddi bhaddi galiyan di ja rahin hain. SHAME…Kaunsi Bharat Ma ki baat karte ho agar tumhari Bharat Mata mein meri Ma shamil nahin hai. Mujhe manzur nahin hai yeh Bharat Mata ka concept. Aur is desh ki mahilayein jo garib hain, mazdoor hain… meri ma anganwadi sevika hai. Teen hazar se hamara parivar chalta hai. Aur yeh uske khilaf galiyan de rahein hain. Mujhe sharam hai is desh par, is desh mein jo garib mazdoor dalit kisan hai unki matain Bharat Mata nahin hain.

Main kahunga Jai! Bharat ki Mataon ki Jai! Pitaon ki jai! Mataon, Behenon ki jai! Kisanon, mazdooron, daliton, adivasiyon ki jai! Main kahunga, tum mein himmat hai to bolo Inqilab Zindabad! Bolo Bhagat Singh Zindabad! Bolo Sukhdev Zindabad, Bolo Asfaqullah Khan Zindabad! Bolo Baba Saheb Zindabad!

Aur Baba Saheb ki ek sau pachisvi (125th) jayanti manane ka natak kar rahe ho. Hai tum mein himmat to sawal uthao, jo sawal Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar ne uthaya, ki is desh ke andar jaativad sabse badi samasya hai. Bolo jaativad ke upar. Lao reservation! Private sector mein reservation lao! Tamam jageh reservation kayda laghu karo. Karo phir manega yeh desh tumhe. Yeh desh tumhara kabhi nahin tha, aur kabhi nahin ho sakta.

Koi desh agar banta hai, to vahan ke logon se banta hai. Agar desh ki avdharna main bhooke logon ke liye jagah nahin, garib mazdooron ke liye jagah nahin hai voh desh nahin hai. Kal main TV debate mein ye baat bol rah tha, Deepak Chaurasiyaji ko, ki: chaurasiyaji yeh gambhir samay hai is baat ko yaad rakhiyega – Agar mulk mein phansivaad jis tareeke se aa raha hai, media bhi surakshit nahin rehne wali hai. Uske bhi script likhkar aayenge [indecipherable] ke office se, aur uske bhi script likh kar aate the kabhi Indira Gandhi ke Congress ke office se. Is baat ko yaad rakhiyega.

Aur agar aap sach mein is desh mein desh bhakti dikhana chahte hain…kuch media ke saathi keh rahe the, hamare tax ke paise se, subsidy ke paise se, JNU chalta hai. Haan sach hai. Sach hai ke tax ke paise se chalta hai. Sach hai ke subsidy ke paise se chalta hai. Lekin ye sawal khada karna chahte hain, ke university hota kis liye hai? University hota hai ke samaj ke andar jo common-sense hai, quote unquote uska critical analysis kiya jaye. Critical debate ko promote kiya jaye. Agar university is kaam mein fail hai, koi desh nahin banega, desh mein koi log shamil nahin honge, aur desh hoga sirf aur sirf punjipathiyon ke liye charagah hoga, sirf aur sirf loot aur shoshan ka charagah ban kar rahe jayega. Agar desh ke andar logon ki jo sanskriti hai, logon ki jo manyatain hain, logon ka jo adhikar hai, hum usko shamil nahin karenge, to desh nahin banega.

Hum desh ke saath puri tareeke se khade hain. Aur us sapne ke saath khade hain jo Bhagat Singh aur Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ne dikhaya hai. Hum us sapne ke saath khade hain ke sab ko barabari ka haq diya jaye. Hum us sapne ke saath khade hain ke sabko jeena ka haqq ho, sabko khane-peene rehne ka haqq ho, hum us sapne ke saath khade hain. Aur us sapne ke saath khada hone ke liye Rohit Vemula ne apna jaan gavaya hai. Lekin main kehna chahta hun in sanghiyon ko, lanat hai tumhari sarkar par, aur chunauti hi meri kendra sarkar ko, ke aap Rohit ke mamle mein jo kiya hai, voh JNU mein hum nahin hone denge. Rohit ko [punwani’?] di hai, punwani hum kya denge, hum freedom of experssion ke paksh mein khade honge.

Aur chodh do Pakistan ki baat aur Bangladesh ki baat. Hum kehte hain, duniya ke garibon ek hon, duniya ke mazdooron ek hon, duniya ki manavta zindabad, bharat ki manavta zindabad. Aur jo uss manavta ke khilaf khada hua hai, hum usko aaj identify kar chuke hain. Aur aaj sabse gambhir sawal hamare samne khada hai, ke is identification ko humko bana ke rakhna hai. Woh jo chehra hai jaativaad ka, voh jo chehra hai manuvaad ka, voh jo chehra hai brahmanvad aur punjivaad ke ghatjor ka, us chehre ko humko expose karna hai. Aur sachmuch ka loktantra, sachmuch ki azadi, sabki azadi, desh mein humko staphit karni hai. Aur vo azadi aayegi, samvidhan se aayegi, parliament se aayegi, loktantra se aayegi, aur sansad se aayegi, yeh hum kehna chahete hain. Aur isiliye, aap tamam sathiyon se appeal hai ke tamam tareeka ka differences ko side rakhte hue jo hamara freedom of expression hai, jo hamara constitution hai, jo hamara mulk hai, uski ekta ke liye hum log ekjuth rehenge, ekmust rahenge.

Aur yeh jo desh todne waali taqatein hain, aatankiyon ko panah denewale log hain: ek sawal, antim sawal poochte hue apni baat ko khatam karunga: ke kaun hai Kasab? Kaun hai Afzal Guru? Kaun hain yeh log jo aaj is stithi main hain ke apne sharir main bum bandh kar hatya karne ko tayyar hain? Agar yeh sawal university mein nahin uthega mujhe nahin lagta university hone ka koi matlab hai. Agar hum violence ko define nahin karenge, kaise hum violence ko dekhte hain. Violence sirf yahi nahin hota hai ke hum bandook lekar kisi ko maar dete hain. Violence yeh bhi hota hai ki samvidhan mein daliton ko adhikar diya gaya hai voh adhikar JNU prashasan dene se mana karta hai. Yeh institutional violence hai. Yeh log justice ki baat karte hain. Kaun tay karega ki justice kya hai? Jab Brahmanvadi vyvastha thi to daliton ko mandir mein nahin ghusne dete the, yahi justice tha. Jab Angrez the to kutton ko Aur Bharatiyon ko restraunt main nahin jaane diya jaata tha, yahi justice tha, is justice ko humne challenge kiya. Aur hum aaj bhi ABVP aur sanghiyon ke justice ko challenge karte hain, ke tumhara justice humare justice ko accomodate nahin karta hai. Agar tumhara justice humare justice ko accomodate karta to hum nahin manenge tumhare justice ko aur nahin manenge tumhari azadi ko. Hum manenge us din azaadi ko jis din har insan ko uska constitutional right milega. Jis din har insan ko uska samvidhanik adhikar dete huye is mulk ke andar barabari ka darza diya jayega, us din hum justice ko manenge.

Doston bahut gambhir paristhiti hai. Kisi bhi taur par JNUSU kisi bhi hinsa ka, kisi bhi atankwadi ka, kisi bhi atankwadi ghatana ka, kisi bhi desh-virodhi activity ka koi samarthan nahin karta hai. Kade shabdon main ek baat phir se jo kuch log, unidentified log, jo Pakistan zindabad ke naare lagaye hain, JNUSU uske kade shabdon main bhatshna karta hai. Saath hi saath ek baat jo hai usko aap sab logon ko share karte hue khatam…yeh sawal hai JNU administration aur ABVP ke liye: Is campus mein, hazaar tarah ki cheezein hoti hain. Abhi aap dhyan se ABVP ka slogan suniye: yeh kehte hain communits kutte. Yeh kehte hain Afzal Guru ke pille. Yeh kehte hain Jihadiyon ke bacche. Humein kya nahin lagta ke agar is samvidhan ne humein nagarik hone ka adhikar diya hai, to mere baap ko kutta kehna, yeh mere samvidhanik adhikar ka hanan hai ki nahin hai? Yeh sawal mein ABVP se poochta hun.

Yeh sawal poochna chahete hain JNU administration se, ke aap kis ke liye kaam karte hain? Kis ke saath kaam karte hain? Aur kis ke aadhar pe kaam karte hain? Yeh baat aaj bilkul spasht ho chuki hai. Ke JNU administration, pehle permission deta hai, phir Nagpur se phone aane ke baad permission leta hai. Yeh jo permission lene aur dene ke prakriya hai, yeh usi tarike se chit tej ho gayi hai is mulk main, jaise fellowship lene aur dene ki prakriya hai. Ke pehle aapko fellowship badhane ke ghoshna ki jayegi, aur phir kaha jayega ke fellowship band ho gaya hai. Yeh sanghi pattern hai. Yeh RSS aur ABVP ka pattern hai. Jis pattern se who mulk to chalana chahte hain. Aur issi pattern se woh JNU administration ko chalana chahte hain. Humara sawal hai JNU ke Vice Chancellor se ke poster laga tha JNU main, parche aaye the mess mein. Agar dikat tha to pehle JNU administration permission nahin deta. Agar permission diya, to kiske kehne se permission cancel kiya, yeh baat JNu administration clear kare, yeh sawal hum sirf poochna chahte hain.

Saath hi saath yeh jo log hain inki sacchai jaan lijiye. Un se nafarat mat kijiyega, Kyonki hum log nafarat kar nahin sakte. Inse mujhe, bada hi daya bhav hai inke prati mujhe hai. Yeh itne uchal rahe hain. Kyon? Inko lagta hai jaise Gajendar Chauhan ko baithaya hai, waise har jageh Chauhan, Diwan, Farman jaari karte rahenge. Yeh Chauhan, Diwan aur Farman ki badaulat yeh har jagah naukari paate rahenge. Isiliye jab yeh jor se bharat mata ki jai chilayein to aap samajh lijiye ki parson inka interview DU mein hone wala hai. Naukari lagegi, deshbhakti peeche chootegi. Naukari lagegi, bharat mata ka koi khayal nahin rahega. Naukari lagegi, tiranga ko to inhonein kabhi mana hi nahin, bhagwa jhanda bhi nahin phirayenge. Main sawal karna chahta hun ke yeh kaisi deshbhakti hai. Agar ek malik apne naukar se sahi bartav nahin karta, agar kisan apne mazdoor se sahi bartav nahin karta hai, agar punjipati apne employee se sahi bartav nahin karta hai, aur ye alag alag channel ke log, jo patrakari ka kaam karte hain 15 hazar rupaiye ke liye. Inke jo CEO hain, woh inse sahi bartav nahin karte hain. Woh kaisi deshbhakti hai? Inki deshbhakti bharat pakistan ke match pe khatam hoti hai.

Isiliye jab ye road pe nikalte hain to kelewale ke saath badtamizi se baat karte hain. Kelawala kehta hai sahab chalis rupaiye darzan bhav hai. Kehtein hat! Tum log loot rahe ho! Tees ka de do. To kelawala jis din mud kar bol dega: tum sabse bade lootere ho, croron loot rahe ho, to keh denge ke ye deshdrohi hai. Aastha amiri aur suvidha se suru hoti hai, amiri aur suvidha pe jakar khatam ho jaati hai.

Main bahut saare ABVP ke doston ko jaanta hun. Main un se poochta hun: ki sach mein tumhare andar mein deshbhakti ki bhavna panapti hai? To kehte hain, bhaiyya kya karein, paanch saal ki sarkar hai, do saal khatam ho gaya hai, teen saal ka talktime bacha hai, jo karna hai isi mein kar dalna hai. To hum bole theek hai kar lo, par yeh bataoe ke JNU ke baare mein jhoot bologe to kal ko tumhara bhi collar koi pakad lega, aur tumhara hi saathi pakad lega, jo aaj kal train main beef check karta hai. Pakad ke tumko lynching karega aur kahega ke tum jo ho desh bhakt nahin ho kyonki tum JNUite ho. Iska khatara samjhte ho? Kehta hai, bhaiyya iska to samjhte hain, isliye to JNU ka jo hashtag bana hai, #shutdownjnu, uska virodh kar rahein hain. Humne kaha bahut badhiya hai bhai sahab! Pehle JNU hashtag ke liye mahaul banao, phir uska virodh karo kyunki rehna to JNU mein hi hai na.

Isiliye main aap tamam JNu ke logon se kehna chahta hun ki abhi chunav hoga march mein aur ABVP ke log Om ka jhanda laga ke aap ke paas aayenge, to un se poochiyega ke hum desh drohi hain, hum jihadi atankvadi hain, hamara vote lekar tum bhi atankvadi ho jaoge. Tab ve kehenge ke nahin nahin aap log nahin hain, vo kuch log the. To hum kehenge, ke vo kuch log the? Ye baat to tumne media mein nahin kahi, tumahar vice chancellor nahin bola, aur tumhara registrar bhi nahin bol raha hai. Aur vo kuch log bhi to keh rahe hain ki hum pakistan zindabad nara nahin lagaye.Voh kuch log bhi to keh rahe hain ki hum atankwad ke paksh main nahin hain. Wo kuch log bhi to keh rahe hain ke hamara permission de kar permission cancel kar diya, yeh hamare democratic rights ke upar attack hai. Par itni baat, inke palle padni wali nahin hai.

Lekin mujhe pura bharosa hai ke yahan ye jo log itne short notice pe aaye hain, unke palle pad raha hai, aur vo log is campus ke ek ek student ke paas jayenge, aur unhein batayenge ke ABVP na sirf is desh ko tod raha hai balki JNU ko tod raha hai. Hum JNU ko tootne nahin denge. JNU zindabad tha, JNu zindabad rahega. Is desh ke andar jitne bhi sangharsh ho rahe hain un sangharshon mein badh chad kar participate karega aur is desh ke andar loktantra ki awaz ko mazboot karte hue, azadi ki awaz ko mazboot karte hue, freeedom of expression ki awaz ko mazboot karte hue, is sangharsh ko aage badhayega. Hum sangharsh karenge, jeetenge, aur in sahbdon ke saath, aap sab ka shukriya, inqilab zindabad, jai bhim, lal salaam!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Education, Politics, Right watch

Why our universities are in ferment

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Published in The Hindu today

jnu-pic-800x600

Image courtesy Morung Express

As over two thousand students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University gathered peacefully on Saturday to protest police action on campus and the arrest of the President of the Students’ Union, a potentially dangerous stampede was set in motion at the front, when at Rahul Gandhi’s entrance, media people with cameras rushed unheedingly into the thickly clustered people seated on the ground. The situation was exacerbated by a further push into that space by about fifteen Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists holding black flags and shouting slogans against Rahul Gandhi. Within seconds, however, the students conducting the meeting had organized a human chain to hold back and corral the media and the ABVP safely into one corner, and the human chain was then immediately taken up by the hundreds of teachers present. Until Rahul Gandhi left, the handful of ABVP activists continued their slogans, but they could only be heard by those seated in their immediate vicinity.

This is how students and teachers have always maintained, through the gravest provocations, perhaps the most peaceful campus in the country. Debate and dissent have always been part of its ethos but never violence, an ethos unfamiliar to those who only know violent suppression of dissent. Continue reading Why our universities are in ferment →

Media politics, Politics, Right watch, Scams

So Was it an ABVP/ RSS Game – Who Shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in JNU?

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While some television channels, through a combination of unethical playing to the gallery (and to the Modi regime), have portrayed ‘JNU students’ as antinational Leftists, Pakistani agents etc, a video has surfaced that has gone viral over social media that allegedly shows identifiable ABVP students shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans.

The four students who are seen in the video shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans, have been identified as ABVP activists (one of them has even been identified by name as Shruti Agnihotri), seen leading protests elsewhere in ABVP  demonstrations.

It is of course, a question that no one in the electronic media (print was different this time) sought to even ask themselves – as to who would be interested in shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans? This is a purely RSS/ABVP/Hindutva obsession. No Leftist that I know of (and I think I know almost all shades by now) would have any reason to shout something as stupid and meaningless as ‘Pakistan Zindabad’! Now, the exchange below also puts things in perspective.

We do not of course, vouch for the authenticity of this video. We wait to be refuted and to be  told that all this  is doctored but the point will still remain, as one of the participants in  the exchange below states, what a curious coincidence that only Zee News  had access to the video that showed ‘students’ shouting pro-Pakistan slogans!

Any enquiry into the incident must take into account this video, investigate its authenticity, and take stern measures if it is proved to be accurate.

In closing, here is an exchange on twitter by ‘BJP Insider’ :

BJP Insider ‏@11AshokaRoad
Thz fools @sudhirchaudhary & @sardanarohit just ruined all our conspiracy by playing that video of AVBP members shouting ‘Pakistan Zinadabd’
330158
BJP Insider

19h19 hours ago

BJP Insider ‏@11AshokaRoad
Now since our involvement is proved in JNU incident, boss has ordered DP to go soft on arrest of AVBP members who shouted Pakistan Zindabad
460190
BJP Insider Retweeted
Pradeep Mittal

19h19 hours ago

Pradeep Mittal ‏@PradMitt
@11AshokaRoad what an coincidence that only zee news camera man was their to record Pakiatan Zindabaad slogans.. hain na !
17981
BJP Insider

19h19 hours ago

BJP Insider ‏@11AshokaRoad
It was a gud conspiracy but @ZeeNews ruined it by broadcasting this video by mistake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs1sCRVxoHY&feature=youtu.be … & we got caught our pants down

Embedded image

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Education, Government, Identities, Language, Law, Media politics, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

Who’s Afraid of JNU? Or, The Sedition That Wasn’t: Sania Hashmi

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This is a guest post by SANIA HASHMI

JNU Sedition

Over the past couple of days, Zee News has been declaring to the world that Lance Naik Hanumanthappa died because he’d rather not breathe the same air as we at JNU do. That this statement is the worst possible trivialisation of a martyr’s death which is being exploited for petty sensationalism by our own version of the fourth estate is a separate issue, too nerve-wracking to be given precedence over the tragedy that unfolded in our campus yesterday with the arrest of our democratically-elected President Kanhaiya Kumar. A Zee News screen grab showed the word ‘Deshdrohi’ in 72-pt screeching yellow font pasted across Kanhaiya’s unsuspecting face. What was his fault? As an eyewitness from ground zero who was present at Sabarmati at the time of the protest, let me begin by answering the obvious questions that despite the numerous clarifications on part of the students and the JNUSU on social media and elsewhere are meeting deaf ears. It is interesting how despite being told that the Students Union and the student body in general had nothing to do with it and have in no uncertain terms condemned any alleged slogan against our country, the trolls are still putting decibels to shame with the very same questions. And no, I am not just talking about Nupur Sharma. So yes, let me begin by putting a few things on record in respect of Kanhaiya’s arrest. Did Kanhaiya organise the event? NO. Did he raise anti-India slogans? NO. Did he hail Pakistan? NO. Did he intervene to prevent ABVP-instigated violence in his capacity as the President? YES. Has he been vocal against the brahmanical tyranny of the RSS? YES. Has he been tirelessly fighting for the Rohith Vemulas of this world? YES. Has he been a torchbearer for students’ rights across the country? YES. Is this why you have arrested him? Is this your justice? If this struggle for a just society is anti-national in your eyes, we all plead guilty! If this is your witch-hunt for people who cannot conform to your ideological blinkers, we all plead guilty! If we must be party to the violent hooliganism of the ABVP in order to be called patriotic, rest assured, we all plead guilty!

WATCH KANHAIYA KUMAR’S SPEECH HOURS BEFORE HIS ARREST TO SEE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA CONSIDERS ANTI-NATIONAL. Clearly, Kumar’s fault was that he said in this speech that he doesn’t need the RSS’s certificate to be called a nationalist.

Continue reading Who’s Afraid of JNU? Or, The Sedition That Wasn’t: Sania Hashmi →

Bad ideas, Culture, Government, Politics, Right watch

Massive Turnout at JNU Protest Meeting

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Even as the  government and the new JNU administration under the hand-picked  new Vice Chancellor step up their witch-hunt, the waves of protest grow stronger with a massive turnout at the admin block this evening. Despite the administration withdrawing at the last minute, permission to use mikes,…more and more students and teachers stand up to be counted. The will to fight grows stronger!

Protest meeting JNU
Protest Meeting in JNU outside the administration block. Image courtesy India Resists

 

Bad ideas, Debates, Feminism, Government, Identities, Left watch, Politics

ചിത്രലേഖയുടെ സമരം – ഒരു ഓർമ്മപ്പെടുത്തൽ കൂടി

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“ആ ചിത്രലേഖയ്ക്ക് ഇനിയും സമരം ചെയ്ത് കൊതി തീർന്നില്ലേ,” കഴിഞ്ഞ ദിവസം ഒരു പരിചയക്കാരൻ എന്നോട് ചോദിച്ചു. “അവർക്ക് പൊതുജനശ്രദ്ധയോട് അഡിക്ഷനാണ്, അയാൾ തുടർന്നു. ആവശ്യം ചില്ലറയല്ല – സ്ഥലവും വീടും. ഇങ്ങനെ നാട്ടിലെല്ലാവരും തുടങ്ങിയാൽ സ്ഥിതി കഷ്ടമാകുമല്ലോ.” Continue reading ചിത്രലേഖയുടെ സമരം – ഒരു ഓർമ്മപ്പെടുത്തൽ കൂടി →

Bad ideas, Debates, Education, Government, Metropolis, Politics, Right watch

JNUSU Statement on the Police Action and ABVP slander in JNU: JNUSU

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Guest Post by Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid Shora and Rama Naga, office bearers, JNUSU

We, the office-bearers of JNUSU, are appalled at the way an uproar has been created over the 9th February incident that happened in JNU and the way the entire incident is being used to malign JNU students and the democratic traditions of JNU.

At the outset, we condemn the divisive slogans (‘bharat ke tukde honge hazar’) that were raised by some people on that day. It is important to note that the slogans were not raised by members of Left organizations or JNU students. In fact, when such sloganeering took place, it was the Left-progressive organizations and students, including JNUSU office-bearers who asked the organizers of the programme to ask the people who were raising the slogans to stop slogans that are regressive. The divisive slogans and the ideology behind it has never been a part of the progressive tradition that JNU and the JNUSU uphold. On the contrary, the unity of the people of different parts of the country in challenging divisive, authoritarian, anti-people and anti-student forces is what we stand with and look up to. Even in the recent times, the JNU student community and the JNUSU have joined nation-wide students’ voice to defend the country against casteist and authoritarian power lobbies. The Left-progressive organizations were present at the programme only to ensure that no violence takes place, as ABVP had called in hooligans from DU to disrupt the program and the general atmosphere in the campus. And so, to interpret our presence as endorsement of some divisive slogans which were raised by some (and was protested and stopped) is extremely mischievous and manipulative. Continue reading JNUSU Statement on the Police Action and ABVP slander in JNU: JNUSU →

Education, Politics, Right watch

Democratic Ethos of the University Under Threat: JNU Teachers’ Association

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Statement by JNUTA
JNU has always been a University where there has been a vibrant democratic culture, where diverse political ideological and academic views have engaged with each other in a spirit of peaceful dialogue and debate. The JNU teaching community is extremely concerned at the threat to the democratic ethos, which has played a critical role in ensuring that the University serves its social functions and secures its position as one of the premier institutions of higher education.
The University, having already instituted an enquiry to ascertain the facts and to take necessary action and there being no disruption of academic or any other regular functioning of the University, JNUTA strongly believes that the current excessive police action is totally uncalled for and it has only aggravated the situation. In view of this, JNUTA expresses its deep anguish over the University Administration’s decision to give a carte blanche to the police to enter the campus to search different premises and even make random arrests.
The teachers of JNU have always stood for upholding the Constitution of India and values enshrined therein and are opposed to any unconstitutional activity in the campus or outside. This very sentiment makes us express our strong opposition to attempts to use the law and the police to suppress democratic dissent and conduct a witch-hunt on our campus. The fact that the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) President is the first to be arrested establishes it. The JNUTA, following its Emergency Meeting, expresses its deep concern on the recent developments on our campus. The teachers of the University condemn the massive police presence and the attempt to escalate tensions.
JNUTA stands with the entire JNU community to maintain normalcy on our campus by immediately withdrawing the police and releasing all those detained.
Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Education, Government, Metropolis, Movements, Politics, Right watch

Restore Normalcy in JNU, Release All Detained Students, Delhi Police Quit JNU

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Students, Professors and Staff of JNU Stand Together in Protest on February 12, 2016 against the Police Action on Campus and the Assault on JNU by ABVP-BJP

In an unprecedented and draconian move, Delhi Police personnel entered the precincts of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi yesterday afternoon, and began a search operation based on malicious complaints against ‘unnamed persons’ filed by a Delhi BJP leader in response to an event titled – ‘Country Without a Post Office’ – organized by some students to commemorate and protest against the execution of Afzal Guru on February 9th.

Continue reading Restore Normalcy in JNU, Release All Detained Students, Delhi Police Quit JNU →