From quota agitations to beef bans, India has quite the capacity for surrounding itself in controversies. The recently held cultural event at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, that captioned the students “anti-national” is heating up with each day, embroiled in violence and police triggered protests.
Students from JNU earlier this month, organised a play on Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013 for his involvement in the 2001 Parliament attack. Event organisers had put up posters across the campus inviting students for a protest march against “judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat” and to highlight the struggle of Kashmiri migrants. 'A Country without a Post Office' was set against the judicial killing of both the terrorist leaders portrayed through poetry, art and music. However, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad did not appreciate it and staged a protest demanding the expulsion of the organisers. University administration ordered a “disciplinary” inquiry and said the event organisers “went ahead without permission”.
Videos from the event showed students shouting anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans, however, the students who were part of the committee that organised the event said that none of them were part of the group that raised unpatriotic slogans. Things just got worse from the point as the Left seemed too adamant to punish anti-Indians. All those involved were charged on cases of sedition, lodged at Vasant Kunj police station. IPC Sections 124A (sedition), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intention) was filed against several unknown students. The university also took action and barred eight students from academic activity pending an inquiry. JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on February 11 on sedition charges after allegations that he was part of the group involved in raising shouting 'anti-national' slogans and put in three days of police custody.
As students began to protest the arrest, Home Minister Rajnath Singh talked to Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi and released a statement saying “If anyone raises anti-India slogans and tries to raise questions on the country’s unity and integrity, they will not be spared.” He also alleged that JNU students had the backing of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed. However, his statement was based “fake tweet” from an unverified Twitter account that is no longer in use. Meanwhile, students at the university gave a shutdown call, proclaiming that they will not allow classes to be held on the campus till Kumar is released. They were joined by teachers who said they would take classes on “nationalism” in the varsity lawns. The teachers had also rallied with the protesting students, questioning the administration's decision to allow the police crackdown on the campus even as they appealed to the public not to “brand” the institution as “anti-national”.
When student agitation and name-calling was running deep, the Patiala House courts witnessed major violence as a mob, beat up supporters of Kanhaiya Kumar. The attacks occurred on February 14, when Kumar was due to appear before metropolitan magistrate Loveleen and continued for over 45 minutes. Journalists and students bore the brunt as people clad in lawyers robes kicked and slapped anyone looking young and carrying a mobile phone. BJP MLA OP Sharma invited himself into a controversy as a video showed him beating up a CPI worker outside the court surfaced. Talking about the incident, he said, “As I was leaving the court I saw a man raising anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans. I lost my cool, like any patriot, and asked him to shut up. And when I turned, he attacked me with an object.” While he doesn't know what he was hit with, he said the people around him got “offended seeing the MLA being attacked” and started beating up the attacker.
The Delhi police came under severe flak for their lack of action, even when there was proof of Sharma assaulting the worker. Sources said, “Sharma was questioned by a senior officer, but his statement was not recorded by police. During questioning, he told police that he was leaving the court premises when someone pushed him. He said he did not know who had pushed him. He said he fell down on one of the protesters and people started beating him up.” Rahul Gandhi met President Pranab Mukherjee over the JNU row and the alleged targeting of students in various parts of the country. Accompanied by senior leaders and also the young MPs of the party, the Congress vice president highlighted the “lawlessness” in Delhi in the wake of Patiala House court attacks and the way the government was dealing with the JNU row.
Day Two of the Patiala House court hearing was even worse as this time as Kanhaiya Kumar was bashed. The police did what it does best, play the silent spectator, as attackers hurled gravel and flowerpot piece at a six-member team of senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the law and order situation in the national capital was “fast deteriorating” and the Communist Party of India-Marxist demanded Bassi's removal following the “assault” on Kanhaiya Kumar. Bassi, however, maintained that the JNU student was not beaten up.
The students' protest in the Capital mirrored in universities across the country as clashes were reported from Udaipur to Chennai, and Patna to Hyderabad. Thirty students were detained in Chennai for condemning Kumar's arrest, and scores of the All India Students Association and Youth Congress activists were held as they tried to carry out a march from BHU gate in Varanasi.
Also, the Supreme Court declined to hear Kanhaiya's bail plea, asking him to approach the high court on the issue. It asked the high court to expeditiously deal with the bail plea but did not give any specific date for listing it. Kanhaiya Kumar will spend next few days in Tihar Jail as his petition for release is expected to be heard by Delhi High Court only next week.
