Condemn Fascism in the Name of Nationalism
PUDR strongly condemns the Delhi Police for arresting the JNU students’ union
president, Kanhaiya Kumar today, 12th February, on charges of sedition and
criminal conspiracy for holding a protest demonstration on February 9th against
the judicial hanging of Afzal Guru, three years ago.The events between 9th and
12th February demonstrate how the administration (including the University
authorities) have caved in to the demands of the ABVP, the BJP led students
party which has only 1 seat in the JNU students’ union. On 9th the ABVP
protested against the event and termed it ‘anti-national’ as pro-Kashmiri
slogans were allegedly raised during the demonstration. The ABVP subsequently
organized protest demonstrations against what it termed as ‘anti-nationalism’
both in JNU and in Delhi University. Significantly, the BJP leader from East
Delhi, Maheish Girri, filed complaints with the police along with the ABVP on
Thursday, 11th February, that led to Kanhaiya Kumar being arrested this
morning. The NDTF, the teachers’ wing of the BJP in Delhi University also gave
a call in tandem with the ABVP against “Anti India and pro Pakistan/ pro
Jehadi/ pro -Naxal activities” in JNU. In another incident, S.A.R Geelani,
lecturer -Delhi University, was booked for sedition for a speech delivered at
the Press Club during the course of a similar event. The arrests it may be
noted have been expedited by the explicit sanction given to the Delhi Police by
the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh to take strong action against the
organizers and participants of both these events. Judging by the speed of the
police actions against Kanhaiya Kumar and SAR Geelani, PUDR wishes to strongly
underscore the following points: 1. Afzal Guru was secretly hanged in February
2013. Terming a protest demonstration which takes place three years after as
anti-national is not only vindictive but also proof of the growing fascist
definitions of nationalism propagated by the BJP through its students’ and
teachers’ wings. 2. The JNU authorities’ assertion that it believes in debate
and dissent is ridiculous as it could have easily contained the altercation
internally. After the altercation, it has deliberately chosen to make the
technical point of permission into a political matter. 3. The comments by the
Union Home Minister underline the fact that the Central Government’s partisan
interest in upholding the ABVP’s viewpoint. In the Rohith Vemula case, students
have repeatedly demanded action against the Vice Chancellor and the Union HRD
Minister. Why did it not agree then? It is significant to remember that in the
Hyderabad incident, the matter was first politicized by its MP, Bandaru
Dattatreya, when approached by ABVP Hyderabad University unit president Susheel
Kumar in August 2015, who levelled similar allegations of “extremist and
anti-national” activities against students belonging to the Ambedkar Student’s
Association. 4. The promptness shown by the police in using the sedition clause
in the JNU case is proof of its partisan nature. While the colonial nature of
the sedition clause of the IPC is obsolete and should be struck down, its
continuous use against critics of the government, is an alarming instance of
the coercive nature of the state machinery. The fact that the FIR is
registered against ‘unknown persons’ leaves scope for further arrests in the
coming days. 5. Since the BJP and the ABVP have assumed that they alone are the
custodians of nationalism, how do they defend the essence of Art. 19 of the
Constitution, that deals with freedom of speech and association? This is a
serious question and one which demands a debate: the definition of dissent and
its role in democracy. In the light of the above PUDR demands:a.
Immediate Release of the JNUSU President, Kanhaiya Kumarb. Quashing of FIR
and withdrawal of Sedition charges against unknown persons and S. A. R Geelani
Moushumi Basu, Deepika TandonSecretaries, PUDR ([email protected])12th February
2016
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