Harshit Shandaliya

These memorable lines are from Rabindranath Tagore and  yet, one can be in doubt whether quoting him now would brand him as ‘Anti-National’.

Almost a century after these lines appeared, the Central Government started a very aggressive campaign against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The Modi Government came into power on a development plank with the ubiquitous promise of acchedin, found itself embroiled in a counter produce discussion over nationalism. The government, which should be focusing on growth, jobs, investment etc., allowed its energies to diverted by a small incident. By entering the JNU arena, an ideological battle raging between the two students group, a matter that could have been easily handled at the university level, the government needlessly made a mountain out of a molehill.

In the past few months, the Centre has intervened directly in the internal matters of Public Universities, undermining their autonomy to a great extent. Be it, JNU, Hyderabad Central University (HCU), IIT-M, FTII etc. Most of these interventions have been prompted by AkhilBhartiyaVidyarthiParishad(ABVP), which is affiliated to the RastriyaSwayamsewakSangh(RSS), the ideological progenitor of the BhartiyaJantaParty (BJP). All such attack has been inflicted on a section of the student community have a pattern in which a BJP leader would prompt HRD Minister to take action. 

In addition, in most cases, the Ministry is misinformed by ABVP, which, according to them were indulged in anti-national activities. Many academics believe that root of the attack on universities are the two contesting ideas of nationalism; one pursued by RSS and other espoused by the academic community. 

In JNU, it has been proven that those controversial slogan were shouted by the outsider, yet the government did not care to track those down instead slapped the sedition charges on six students. On further investigations, it was found that the videos were doctored. The evidence provided by the police failed to prove their allegations true.

Now, the question arises what is nationalism and anti-nationalism. What does the Central government’s definition of anti- nationalism? Before pondering these question, let me introduce a chaos in the article. The story goes back to the Quit India Movement 1942. This was an instant when SyamaPrasad Mookherjee, the founder of BhartiyaJan Singh, the predecessor of BJP, wrote a letter to British government that force was the right of any government. It should be further reminded that Organiser, an organ of RSS, rejected the tricolor when it was adopted as the national flag of independent India, especially for its green bottom. The RSS never hoisted it at it’s headquarter at Nagpur for 52 years. In addition, when some activists forced their way and hoisted the national flag, they were arrested only to be discharged after 12 years. 

Another instant that BJP made alliance with the People Democratic Party (PDP) which openly believes that Afzal Guru as martyr. Furthermore, NDA did not take stern actions against SadhviNiranjanJyoti. If this is the face of the government, then there is a flawed and dangerous variety of nationalism, a nationalism enforced on the street, nothing to do with the respect of Indian flag or her people.

Moreover, when such things are aired in the media, a particularly self- righteous anchor declaims. He sets himself on a high ground from where everything looks or is made to look alarming. It did not matter to him that apart from some JNU students, many respected lawyers, judges believed that Afzal Guru was denied a fair trial, or that PDP-BJP alliance or the doctored video. Our anchor would not wait for Supreme Court’s judgementand investigations and was already at war with students. By bullying, bulldozing him on the national television, having his microphone turned off, and shouting “I declare you anti-national” as if he is the honorable Chief Justice Of India trained by International Court Of Justice. The media brings someone to answer public’s concern and to hear his or her opinion. Such brand of journalist-as-nationalism seeks to postulate that a citizen cannot question specific actions of the state, the army, and the police without being instantly tarred as anti-national.

The attacks that are mounted in the name of nationalism are worrisome. In this whole event, as many as 455 academicians from universities such as Yale, Columbiana, Harvard including the renowned political critic NaomChomsky and the Nobel Laureate Orphan Pamukextended their support to JNU student’s movement. And in the midst of it, JNU has been judged by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as the finest university in India. The situation that took place few months ago clearly stated that an assault on the university spaces is an attempt of RSS to polarize the society and take forward its HindutvaNationalism i.e. saffronisednationalism

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