New Delhi :
Nowadays, what is common between Kashmir and JNU campus? The stark comparisions today can be drawn between the fort-like security and anti-national protests outside the gates.
Things will be never be the same in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus where tensions were witnessed last week after the students were charged of sedition charges by government.
Not just protests, but even arrests were made- an issue which was questioned by many. JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest was the first since the Emergency.
Today, the usually open university gates are fortress-like. Police has made the visits limited. Students can be seen protesting on the stairs of the Vice-Chancellor's office while several dignitaries have paid a visit to the troubled University.
Some argue that it was not the first time an event was organized to protest the death penalty for Afzal Guru at JNU. However, the clampdown on students last week baffled everybody.
Students are at loss to understand the most bizarre fact that is way the government has been trying to link the event with terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hafiz Saeed.
Many protesters also believe that this is first time right wing has an "edge" over the Left which was never ever asked to prove its credentials of believing in Indian nationalism. However, this time the right to expression has been termed anti-national.
With all the drama going at JNU, one often tend to ask if the whole issue is about anti-national vs hyper-national?
Also, this comes at a time when the govt could do nothing about what actual terrorists did at Pathankot airbase, but charge students of sedition and anti-national agenda who simply have different view points. One must not forget that a sedition charge is outdated in a liberal democracy. US has already tackled the issue but India on the other hand is still struggling with the issue.
Meanwhile, another issue which arises is that Universities should be held accountable for their output and research, not judged on their political ideology or political activism. The faculty and students must not forget that their studies are being funded by taxpayers money.
Students please remember that education can bring change in politics but vandalism and hollow ideologies cannot. So please refrain from any politics and concentrate on what you are there to do at JNU.
