thearyavarthexpress

4
...
Kanhaiya Windfall
for CPI, the
Left or India?
Saeed Naqvi
Kanhaiya Kumar’s genius as a public speaker
is self evident from his first speech in JNU
on February 11 and the one he made on the
campus after returning from Tihar Jail on March
3. The CPI feels it has a legitimate right to hitch its
wagon to this new star.
The JNU affair has infact opened up many
possibilities. Some of these possibilities may be
imaginary. The Communist Party of India, the original one, suddenly
has stars in its eyes. It hopes Kanhaiya Kumar will boost it to its
original glory, before the party split in 1964. The CPI became its rump.
CPM became the senior party which proceeded to rule West Bengal
and Tripura for over three decades without a break. Intermittently,
in Kerala too.
Kanhaiya contested, and won the JNU Union President’s election
as CPI youth wing All India Student’s Federation (AISF) candidate.
Naturally the parent party, otherwise limp and wan, finds its morale
boosted.
Visit Ajoy Bhawan, its headquarters, and there is a comradely
swagger in everyone’s walk. Overnight, they are feeling superior to
their cousins, the CPM, who have otherwise dwarfed them all these
years but who alas, have no SFI (CPM’s youth wing) star on the JNU
firmament. Kanhaiya’s persona has brought about CPM’s unexpected
status reversal vis-a-vis the CPI.
Even in their abysmal decline, the CPM atleast has nine members
in Lok Sabha; CPI has only one. How then has a windfall like Kanhaiya
come CPI’s way? According to Hindu belief, the party must have done
some good in its past life.
Ironically, Kanhaiya is not a creature of Ajoy Bhawan. He got
his Marxism from his parentage. Begusarai in Bihar, where his
family live was called “Little Moscow”. Senior communist leaders
Chandrashekhar Singh and Indradip Sinha were legends in the
region.
Infact, when the Indian communist movement split nationally, the
Bihar unit remained intact. Under its Secretary General, Jagannath
Sarkar, the CPI was so powerful that its alliance with Indira Gandhi
in New Delhi made Jayaprakash Narayan initiate his movement in
Bihar.
The leftist culture from which Kanhaiya comes, is not necessarily
linked to the CPI in the rigid doctrinaire sense. He came up on the
strength of his leadership skills and oratory and won the union
election without the support of any CPI infrastructure, which is non
existent in the campus.
He was able to forge a wide coalition which included Omar Khaled,
Anirban Bhattacharya and others recently charged with sedition.
Kanhaiya, Omar and Anirban are all comfortable under a broad
left umbrella. But if the parent bodies – CPI and Marxists-Leninists
begin to claim them as their respective wards, there will be difficulties.
CPI and CPM do not dispute the Afzal Guru hanging, but the
CPML does. There is a whole lot of confusion as to who shouted which
slogans at the function to observe Guru’s hanging on February 9.
Bollywood should consider a Roshomon II, where the truth remains
tantalizingly elusive.
It was just as well that Kanhaiya’s release was celebrated
nationwide thanks to the change of heart of some TV channels. But
this is only a release on bail for six months. Moreover, bail has been
granted as a kind of largesse handed out by the High Court to somebody
whose guilt is presumed. The JNU faculty has been advised to keep
the students on the straight and narrow, something, presumably they
were not doing so far. This is the tone of the judgment.
The CPI would like Kanhaiya’s focus to be on the campuses the
ABVP is trying to unsettle. “If we bring in the S.A.R. Geelani’s arrest,
the focus will get diverted to Kashmir and other issue” says a senior
CPI leader.
The CPML, which has traction on the campus, has a different take
on Kashmir, Afzal Guru and therefore on Geelani. In any case the
parent party’s hold on Omar and Anirban is, at best, tenuous because
the two have had serious difference with the leadership.
At this moment Omar and Anirban have no formal affiliation with
a national party. Who then is fighting for their bail. Senior lawyers
like Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhawan and Indira Jaising got involved in
the Kanhaiya matter because that is where the BJP lawyers diverted
the focus by their undisguised hooliganism in court.
This leaves, Omar and Anirban without real political godfathers.
Bright young lawyers, holding the brief for these two, are waiting
for the police to frame charges. But the two are in danger of being
forgotten during the fortnight in judicial custody because the media is
capricious and has its mood swings conditioned by ratings.
The only one who can help them remain in focus is Kanhaiya. He
knows that without his cohorts he too will lose steam.
The general assumption is that the RSS is driving the “nationalism”
debate. It is a difficult debate to negotiate in a sound byte format. On
the other side of this polarised turf, Left, Dalit and Muslim convergence
cannot give comfort to the Hindutva establishment.
The left is propagating the line that the Gujarat police model has
been replicated in Delhi. This strengthens the AAP line that the police
takes dictation from the Union government and does not allow it to
function. The Left and AAP have not necessarily been on the same
page so far. Is this another novelty emerging?
Editorial
narratives and discourses
First of all, I want to introduce myself. I am
an ordinary citizen of India who works hard
to earn his salary and gives part of that
salary as #tax so that students like you whose
family income is about Rs 3,000 per month can get
education for Rs 250 in an institution like Jawahar
Lal Nehru University (JNU). Since, I am paying for
your education from my hard earned money, so,I
have every right to ask you few questions.
1. You belong to a family whose income as per
your statement is about Rs 3,000 per month and I
am happy that you got benefit of availing facility
of prestigious institution like JNU. I would have
expected that you should work hardest of all in your
studies and bring laurels to your family so that you
add up to the family income from meagre amount
of Rs 3,000 to Rs 3 Lakhs per month by pursuing
career in field of your choice. But I am afraid you
hardly did so.
2. I don’t want to say that you have no right
to participate in student politics and following
ideology of your choice. But study should have been
definitely your first priority.
But anyways, you became president of Jawahar
Lal Nehru University Students Union after
successfully contesting the elections. I have no
problems with that.
As leader of students, you have every right to
highlight their problems and work for their welfare.
But my problem starts when you started crossing
your #LaxmanRekha.
You must be aware of the fact that Indian
Parliament, the symbol of Indian democracy was
attacked by Pakistan backed terrorists on December
13, 2001 in which our brave security men sacrificed
their precious lives and our elected representatives
had narrow escape.
On investigation of this attack, Afzal Guru
hailing from Jammu and Kashmir was found to
be key person responsible for this attack who was
arrested, tried under court of law, was found guilty
and after rejection of multiple mercy petitions was
hanged by the then UPA Government.
On February 9,2016, you were one of the
organisers of an event in the campus of JNU in
which the Death Anniversary of this terrorist Afzal
Guru was being celebrated and Pro Azadi Salogns
were chanted in that event. You yourself chanted
those salogns is under investigation and truth will
come out but since you were one of the organisers of
that Antinational event, you can’t absolve yourself
from the responsibility of that event.
Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, I am not spending my hard
earned money to enable you to participate in these
Antinational Activities but only for your education
so that you can support your family whose monthly
income is Rs 3,000.
This action of yours proves that my hard earned
money is being wasted on wrong persons like you
who are preferring politics over academics.
3. After uproar on this Antinational Event, you
were arrested under charges of Sedition and matter
is subjudice, I don’t want to comment on that.
Today, you were released from Tihar jail on interim
conditional bail for six months and still you are not
acquitted.
After being released from the jail, I have
every right to object to your irresponsible
behaviour since I am sponsoring your education,
that I want to tell you without mincing my words.
4. In your speech televised live by news channels
of India non stop for 50 minutes in their Prime time
, you alleged that you have no freedom or Azadi in
this country.
What more freedom do you want than the fact
that a speech full of disrespect for the democratically
Tax Paying Indian Citizen’s
elected government of India in which I was one of
the voters and mocking Prime minister of India with
derogatory words was televised live and unedited in
the entire country.
By the way, who gave you right to use this
language for duly elected government? You were
not abusing government or its leader but you were
abusing democracy and constitution of India.
5. Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, do you understand the
meaning of mandate of 2014 elections? After a gap
of 30 years, people of India gave ruling party 282
MPs and last time it happened in 1984 when you
were not even born in this world.
You say that 69% people voted against this
government.. You want to say that present
Government and present PM won because of
rigging.. By saying so, you are questioning the basic
democracy of this country that empowers common
man like me and you. In multi party democracy,
party getting more seats wins and it’s not necessary
that Vote share of winning party is more than
50%. By saying so, you are insulting whole of
India including those who voted for the present
Government and its leader. Since you hate the PM
of this country because of your political affiliation
to o ideology opposite to that of ruling party, you
are questioning the whole democratic process of
elections in India. Shame on you.
You are threatening to throw this government
out from its roots because it doesn’t suit your
political ideology, how dare you threaten duly
elected government with full majority.
6. In your speech, you said that you want freedom
not from India but from within India.
You want freedom from #Corruption
Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, have you heard any
whisper of Corruption or Scam in India after May
26,2014 when Mr Narendra Modi took the oath of
Prime Minister of this country. And still you want
to throw out this government..... Why?
Where were you sleeping prior to 2014 when 2G
Scams, Commonwealth Scams, Coal Scams were
going on under previous government.Then you
never raised the Salogn of freedom of Corruption.
Had you got tongue tie then?
7. Rest of freedoms you are talking about like
freedom from casteism, manuvad etc etc have been
going on since centuries and have not cropped up
suddenly after 26 May, 2014. So,why do you want to
throw out the present Government. Will throwing
out this government remove all evils from India and
give you freedom from everything in India you are
demanding?
8.Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, you think that by
mocking democratically elected PM of this country,
you will become hero overnight. A person who works
tirelessly for this country 18 to 20 hours a day, faces
all types of abuses but still doesn’t care about them
09 Mar to 15 Mar 2016
open letter to Kanhaiya Kumar
By Parmod Kumar
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) The Delhi High
Court’s remarks on nationalism and love
for the nation while granting bail to JNU
student leader Kanhaiya Kumar were denounced
on Thursday by senior legal experts.
Judge Pratibha Rani’s observations are a part
of a judicial trend which needs to be curbed right
away, leading advocates said, with one dubbing
them “totally uncalled for, unwarranted and
unfortunate”.
Senior lawyers said the judge appeared to be
broadly espousing the official line on the events
at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where
Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on February 12 on
charges of sedition.
He was accused of raising anti-India slogans
at a meeting organised to mark the execution of
parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, a militant
from Jammu and Kashmir. Kanhaiya Kumar has
repeatedly denied the charge.
The high court judge, while granting six-month
interim bail to Kanhaiya Kumar, reminded him
about his fundamental duties, love for the country,
nationalism and the sacrifices soldiers were making
and the demoralising affect that anti-India slogans
had on the families of martyrs.
Pointing out that the observations had been
lapped up by government circles and rightwing
groups, activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan told
IANS: “It is a political rather than a legal judgment.
“The judge has no business to expound on
nationalism or anti-nationalism which is not an
offence under the law.”
He added: “Nationalism is not defined anywhere
and is not a ground on which freedom of speech can
be restricted.
“By expounding on this issue, the judge seems
to have played into the hands of those who are
using this as a political weapon to drum up fascist
hysteria in this country.”
Echoing Bhushan’s sentiments, Supreme Court
Bar Association president and senior counsel
because he loves this country more than anything
else, Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, do you think you are
#worth mocking him?
You are a student who is getting subsidised
education on my money has got no right to mock
duly elected PM of India who is not just leader of
India but today he is a world leader. No one has
given you this right Mr Kanhaiya Kumar.
9.Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, you must be aware of
this proverb “Ghar ki Murgi Dal Brabar”. You have
got enough freedom in this country. Infact you have
got too much freedom that you are not able to digest.
If you want to know the value of freedom, just peep
into neighbouring country Pakistan where you
will find Malala Yusuf who was brutally attacked
by terrorists because she advocated right to get
education and later she was awarded with Nobel
peace prize along With Mr Kailash Satyarthi. She
will tell you value of freedom. And in a country
where a student with monthly family income of Rs
3000 is a scholar in renowned university, you are
questioning freedom in that country, shame on you.
10. Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, you must be aware
of the fact that our country under the present
Government has become fastest growing economy
surpassing China but still you want to throw out
this government. Why?
A government, where Railway Minister responds
to every single tweet with prompt action, but you
want to throw this government out. Why?
A government, whose external affairs Minister
has saved every Indian in crisis abroad with her
intervention, you want that government out of
power. Why?
A government, whose power Minister is working
day and night to provide electrification in the whole
country 24 hours a day, you want to dethrone that
government. Why?
A government, where network of national
highways is spreading like storm, you don’t want to
see that government in power. Why?
Where farmer is getting insurance of crops so
that he doesn’t need to commit suicide, you don’t
want to see that government continuing in power.
Why?
Government whose thrust is on E-governence so
that no scope of Corruption by middlemen is left,
you want that government to go. Why?
Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, you need to answer
this. Why do you want to destabilise the majority
government in this country?
Are you not puppet in the hands of those forces
who hate the Prime Minister of the country?
Why are you hell bent upon vitiating atmosphere
in this country that wants to become next
superpower? Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, I spent my hard
earned money for your education only and not for
enabling you to play dirty politics in my country.
There is saying that “Ek gandi machhli poore
talaab ko ganda kar deti hai”...Don’t become that
“Gandi Machhli” and don’t try to misguide youths
of my nation.I spent my money on you to make you
scholar and not politician.
Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, please mend your ways
otherwise I will request government to stop wasting
my money on institutions like JNU. If this happens,
only people like you will be responsible for that.
In that case, students from poor and downtrodden
families will be the worst sufferers.
Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, you may get party ticket
tomorrow from any party to contest elections But
please don’t spoil career of other deserving students.
May God grant enough wisdom to you in time
to come.
Yours
Ordinary Indian Tax Payer
‘Judges must confine to law, not venture into politics’
Dushyant Dave described the observations as
“totally uncalled for, unwarranted and unfortunate”.
He added: “Judges must stay away from political
debate.”
Saying Kanhaiya Kumar deserved unconditional
bail, Dave said: “Nationalism is not a part of judges’
function to write about. They must confine to law
and not emotive issues.”
Former Delhi High Court judge Rupinder Singh
Sodhi said that making loose observations was an
unfortunate trend that the judiciary was adopting.
“I think this trend has to stop now and immediately.”
Justice Sodhi, also a senior lawyer in the
Supreme Court, says granting interim bail had no
legal precedent.
“All bails are interim in nature and can be
cancelled at any time. Ordinarily, an interim bail is
granted to fulfil an extreme social obligation which
the court can always accommodate. As a rule, bail
can either be granted or dismissed.”
Another leading lawyer who did not wish to be
identified by name said that while attempting to
define nationalism in a pluralistic society, the judge
seemed to have overstepped her judicial limits.
“Her observations are symptomatic of all that
ails Indian judiciary and deserve to be expunged.”
(Parmod Kumar can be contacted at saneel2010@
gmail.com)