So after a gap of 3 years, I am writing a blog post. Coincidentally, my last post involved the same man at the centre of the storm that is blowing over JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Afzal Guru. Now, as in my previous post, lets start with some background information on the events that have happened up till now.
A group of students on 9th Feb 2016, held an event on the JNU campus attended by representatives from most of JNU’s political outfits. The event, titled “The Country Without a Post Office”, had been organised to “stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Kashmiri people for their democratic right to self-determination” and, among other things, to protest the ‘judicial killing’ of Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013 after being convicted in the attack on Parliament in 2001.
The event soon turned into a scuffle between ABVP and Left organizations and anti India slogans were raised by some people. Arrests were made and the university instituted an enquiry as to how the event went ahead despite having cancelled permission for the event based on a complaint by ABVP.
Afzal Guru was hanged secretly on 9th Feb 2013 in Tihar jail and his body buried in the jail premises and denied to his family thereafter. The protests in JNU were essentially regarding this 'judicial killing' of Afzal Guru. How the people in JNU managed to get permission for an event which included a protest for the death of a terrorist still beats me. One day we might have this sort of protest for the death of Yakub Memon.
Anyway, moving on, a scuffle took place, arrests were made and media spotlight turned on the JNU like bees to honey. Among all this, doctored evidence as to who started the anti India slogans, doctored videos and doctored photos started doing the rounds. The media behaved irresponsibly and started media trials on 9 PM debates to sway public opinion based on the doctored evidence. When the case came up in court, the people who are responsible for upholding the law took the law into their own hands and beat up the 'accused' Kanhaiya Kumar for chanting anti India slogans while the police remained a mute spectator.
Among all that has happened so far, the main culprits have managed to evade police capture. It has been sufficiently established that Kanhaiya Kumar was not the culprit as all the evidence, as I have mentioned above, was doctored. So the question remains: WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANTI INDIA SLOGANS?
The power of social media is such that it is easy to sway people these days. In India, the educated class even can be made to believe nonsensical stuff (like Tata Industries would not employ or provide job to anybody from JNU any more). Because of a few people, a prestigious institute has been maligned.
Its sad that the people who should have been most responsible in this crisis have been the most irresponsible viz. media persons and lawyers. As Ravish Kumar from NDTV rightly said, "The black screen is the face of media today."
It would be my urge(and if I may say so on behalf of all Indians) that the real perpetrators of events in JNU be caught and punished so that it may be established that Indians, while tolerant, have their limits.
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