Ever since the Modi-led BJP government came to power in May 2014, we are seeing a surge in protests, both inside and outside the parliament. The behaviour of some of the members in both the houses is despicable and is a manifestation of the growing intolerance in the society. The parliamentarians, instead of engaging in healthy debates, are disrupting the proceedings in the parliament and making disparaging remarks against the prime minister. This attitude is slowly percolating in all walks of life. It would be foolish to expect the Universities to be immune to this growing menace of intolerance. The politics in India reached an all-time low, threatening the very edifice of democracy. In a democratic country every citizen has the right to express his or her opinion without fear. If a country tries to muzzle free expression, the very foundation of democracy will be shaken.
It is in this context, we need to analyse what is happening in campuses in India. Sadly, the Universities have always been a cesspool of leftist ideologies. A certain section of the students belonging to the Democratic Students Union (DSU), which owes its allegiance to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, received notoriety for eulogizing the terrorist Afzal Guru, for his involvement in the 2001 Parliament attack. Afzal Guru was sentenced to death by India’s highest apex court. The members of the DSU were seen raising anti-India slogans, and for demanding freedom for Kashmir. Mr. Umar Khalid, a PhD scholar, Ariban Bhatatcharya and seven other students were arrested by the Delhi police and sedition charges were pressed against them. The opposition parties’, which always looks for an opportunity to criticize the Modi government, took advantage of the situation by criticizing the government. Instead of being critical of the behaviour of certain students, they chose instead to accuse the government and the Delhi police, for silencing the voices of the students. In India, the academic institutions are falling prey to certain vested interests, whose main aim is to create confusion in the minds of impressionable students. The recent protest in the Ramjas College, University of Delhi, is one of the oldest colleges of Delhi, known for its academic excellence. At the heart of the dispute, is the invite to Umar Khalid to participate in a seminar on ‘Culture of Protest.’ Strangely, the organizers did not realize that the very theme of the seminar would lead to the staging of protests by two rival Unions espousing two different ideologies. While the Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) is a student’s wing of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), the All India Students Union is affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The ABVP took strong exception for inviting Umar Khalid, who is facing sedition charges.
ABVP organized a protest march, which unfortunately turned into a clash with the supporters of All India Students Union (AISU). The AISU organized a counter march to protest the high handedness of the students belonging to ABVP. The union felt that the Ramjas college students had every right to invite any person to the seminar and the students should be given a choice of listening to all shades of beliefs and opinions, even it is anathema to certain section of students.
While I totally endorse the stand taken by the students of Ramjas College for inviting Umar Khalid for the seminar but at the same time I find students supporting leftist ideologies, are equally intolerant when it comes to inviting people known holding different beliefs. Recently, ShaziaIlmi of the BharatyaJanta Party was prevented from taking part in a seminar organized at the JamiaMillia University on Muslim personal law. The excuse given was that her speech would affect the sentiments of the students belonging to the minority religious groups. This seems to be an afterthought, as they could not explain why she was invited at the first place. It appears that the change of mind could be attributed to the incident at the Ramjas College. The DSU and All India Students Federation, another party owing allegiance o CPI (M) protested invitation extended to Baba Ram Dev, a Yoga guru, who is close to the ruling dispensation. This is a classic case of double standards being practiced by student unions espousing left ideology. The so called liberals, who are now shouting from the rooftops, on the assault on the freedom of expression, are themselves guilty of practicing intolerance.
If certain voices are stifled, we would, unwittingly be promoting conflicts between groups, which is not healthy for developing future leaders of the country. In India, for centuries, seats of leaning like Nalanda have encouraged free speech, but sadly, we are seeing our campuses are now being caught in the vortex of politics. The assault on the freedom of expression will continue unless, as a society, we are able to respect different opinions and beliefs. It is for this reason, I feel that ABVP should not have protested Umar Khalid from taking part in the seminar. If Khalid was found indulging in anti- India rants, the ABVP would have gained tremendous goodwill from students and could have legitimized their protests. .
One understands that freedom of expression is not absolute, especially if it concerns on matter relating to national integrity and, in this regard, I have my own take on students like Umar Khalid and others. We also need to understand that one Khalid or Ariban can’t cause a threat to our society. However, if the government finds that Khalid and others may cause a threat to the society by inciting violence, action taken by them would be justified. By ignoring the rants of few students would not have made Khalid to become a crusader fighting for free expression.
At University of Hyderabad, RohithVermula and his associates were attacked for protesting against YakubMemon’s hanging and also for condemning AkhilBharattiyVidyaParishad (ABVP) attack for the screening of a documentary ‘MuzzafarnagarBaqqiHai” in Delhi University. Although, I’m a strong believer that political organizations, and their student affiliates, should be kept out from Universities, but one must at the same time allow students to freely express their views.
Liberty cannot exist when people are forced to conform to a particular viewpoint. Otherwise, as a society, we may end up launching attacks on the very idea of free speech. Further, muzzling of views, especially those of the writers, will only prove to be counterproductive, and seen as an assault on the very idea of democracy. It is, therefore, important that campuses should be places, where all kind of ideas are supported, nourished and allowed to blossom as it will promote the intellectual growth of the students. The government also should ensure that Universities should not become fertile grounds of political organizations for spreading their ideology, and using the University as a launching pad for their future leaders. The time has come to ban all unions affiliated to political parties and, instead, encourage students to form their own association to articulate their own thoughts, opinion, however critical it may.
The author is an Independent Journalist and Political commentator. He writes a regular column for many leading newspapers. He is also a former student of the Delhi University