Ours head, except 'men with convenient consciousness ' hang in shame on Sunday's violence at Indian Capital Delhi's premier Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The obnoxious and most unsavory incident has received so much widespread condemnation that Delhi police's lawyer, Rahul Mehra has strongly condemned the attack.
Masked goons armed with iron rods,bottles and sledgehammers went on a brutal rampage in the university campus. The details that have emerged clearly point out the police and authorities' connivance. The streetlights went off during the murderous attack and attackers in masks, carrying weapons had a free run for three hours. There werr not stopped by either the police or the administration. More than 34 people, including students and faculty, were injured. The victims have alleged the role of the ABVP, the RSS affiliated student body. The ABVP has accused left-backed student groups for the attack. But, it is apparent that the attacks were not engineered by left-wing students. Otherwise, police and authorities would have swung into action and situation would have been different.
Usually, multiple security guards are posted at each gate of the university and they record the movement of students and vehicles entering and exiting the campus. It is still a mystery how the attackers armed with weapons were allowed entry into the JNU campus and why weren't they stopped? The attackers went from hostel to hostel unstopped beating students and teachers. The attackers even didn't spare the politician-activist Yogendra Yadav. In a Facebook post Mr Yadav said he was attacked thrice and "the police (just) watched". Obviously , the attacks were planned with official support.
The role of the Delhi police, controlled by Home Ministry looks too dubious. The cops did not intervene and allowed attackers free run for over three overs. The attack is linked to the left wing students' country-wide mass protest against mended Citizenship Law.
However,it is to be remembered that popular uprising can't be stopped by tyrannical tactics. Hours after the rampage at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, thousands of students across the country went in spontaneous protest against the "brutal crackdown" on dissenting voices. Hundreds of students across Mumbai started gathering at the Gateway of India from Sunday midnight, demanding action against Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS-linked student union alleged to be behind the attack.
Aligarh Muslim University Students took out a candlelight march in solidarity with the students and faculty members of JNU. Students in Hyderabad held an impromptu demonstration. Students of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and Jadavpur University in Kolkata also took out late night demonstration. More protests are expected.
The ruling BJP should remember that students' movements were the force to overthrow tyrannical Indira regime in 1977. History repeats itself.
(Chander Sharma)