Jawaharlal
Nehru University’ has been named after the first Prime Minister of Independent
India. Therefore, in the light of ongoing controversy in JNU relating to
‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pakistan’ slogans shouted by few students by organizing
the death anniversary of the executed terrorist Afzal Guru, it is imperative to
discuss what views Pt. Nehru carried about India’s Unity, sovereignty and
Integrity. Pt. Nehru, while writing the prologue to ‘Sanskriti Ke Char Adhyay’
a magnum opus of Nation Poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, on September 30, 1955, had
opined that, “In the entire history of India, we witness the working of
two mutually-opponents and competing powers. The one is which tries to yield
coordination and rapprochement among humans by accepting the outer elements,
and the other is that encourages separation. We are still fighting this battle
in a different context. Today also there are many powerful establishments,
which not only fight to bring political unity rather cultural as well. But,
there are such powers too, which try to divide humans and fosters separation on
different grounds.”
This
is indeed extremely unfortunate that what Pt. Nehru had opined in 1955, we
still stand there, rather the circumstances have drastically reached a
dangerous notch. The way few students in JNU shouted ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pak’
slogans, openly and flagrantly inside
the campus hiding behind the indefensible pretext of ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression’
and declared the executed terrorist Afzal Guru convicted in Parliament attack
case as a ‘Martyr’ is not only bothersome rather it is an alarming bell for the
Nation’s unity, Integrity and Sovereignty. There is no reason to tolerate such
kind of ‘Anti-National’ activities inside the JNU campus in the name of a
different ideology and dissent, nor should this kind of ideology be permitted
to flourish anymore. No ideology can be licensed to strike at the root of
India’s cultural unity and integrity, by permitting it to go against the
Nation’s interest and chanting ‘Pro-Pak’ slogans. This Nation has provided such
a golden and magnificent opportunity to flourish those ideologies on its own
soils and has offered all good ambience and fertility to those seeds of
thoughts. But, today the same ideology has become so venomous that their
products are openly and brazenly chanting ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pak’ jingles
and pledging to break it into pieces and continue their battle till the
downfall of the Indian State? What kind of ideology is this? In fact, this
doesn’t fit within the definition of any ideology albeit this can only be
categorized under ‘Stagnancy of thought’.
This
sort of ‘Anti-national’ activities in a university which runs on the
‘hard-earned’ money of taxpayers are not only ignominious rather criminal and
‘Anti-Constitutional’ as well. I heard some of these participating students
including Umar Khalid, on a television debate, claiming that they had organized
the death ceremony of Afzal Guru, because they are ideologically opposed to the
idea of Capital Punishment. Well, as per valid statistics of leading human
rights NGO ‘Amnesty International’, one hundred and forty countries of the
world have abolished death penalty as of now. Therefore, keeping such demand to
abolish death penalty from the rule-book is not problematic per se. But, the
point is that this demand of abolition of death penalty must be kept within the
Constitutional and democratic framework and not by chanting ‘Anti-India’ and
‘Pro-Pak slogans’ and by organizing the death ceremony of an executed terrorist
and by declaring him as a ‘Martyr’. However, in my opinion, the organizing of
this ‘Anti-national’ event had no express or implied connection in any way with
their demand of abolition of death penalty because what relation can exist
there between demand of abolition of death penalty and shouting of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘India Go-back’? I
mean, is there any meaningful logic behind this? Has Pakistan abolished death
penalty that they were shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’? Have all those countries
which have abolished death penalty, have done so because few students in any of
its Countries’ central university have sweared to break the respective country
into pieces and have shouted ‘Anti-National’ slogans? The answer is a
resounding ‘No’. This depicts, that these ‘Anti-nationals’ camouflaged in a
pseudo ideology, are interested in the destruction of India’s sovereignty,
unity and integrity. Their precarious
motive is to destroy the Country and break it into pieces which they themselves
are flagrantly accepting.
The
renowned French Philosopher Voltaire had once said that, ‘God, save me from my
friend and I can defend myself from my enemies.’ I understand, that this is
quite a relevant statement in the ongoing context. These ‘Anti-India’ elements
are the traitors of same kind camouflaging themselves as Indian citizens, from
whom we need to be highly cautious and they are required to be dealt with
high-handedness and without mercy. Doing so, is proper and essential from
numerous perspectives because non-action may lead to the formation of thoughts
on International level that if India is not able to fight ‘Anti-India forces’
within its own territory then how can it fight with its ‘enemy nations’ ? This
thought, if produced, shall certainly enhance the confidence of its ‘enemy
nations’ which for obvious reason, is inimical to India’s sovereignity and territorial
integrity.
The
right to freedom of speech and expression emanates from our Constitution and
our Country is also run by the same Constitution but isn’t it an extreme paradox that some people vow to destroy
the nation, hiding behind the nation’s Constitutional principles itself? What
can be more treacherous than this? Shall all those not be categorised as the
renegades of this nation who are biting the hands that feed them?
So, finally I come to ‘My Pledge’ in response to
their pledge of breaking India into pieces and their continuing battle till the
downfall of the Indian state. Since
my childhood, I have seen my mother paying obeisance to the 'Mother Land’
immediately after leaving the bed but I had not understood the 'Sacred Secret'
behind her doing so. But, now the 'Anti-India' slogans shouted by some
'Anti-India elements' of 'So called' reputed University J.N.U, hiding behind
the pretext of 'Freedom of Speech and Expression' has offered me a 'Blinding
Glimpse of the Obvious' and has immensely helped me understood the salience and
significance of My "Mother Land". Therefore, In protest of the
'Anti-India’ slogans shouted by some 'Anti-India Elements' , I swear in the
name of 'My Motherland' to emulate my Mother's routinely activity of paying
obeisance to 'My Motherland' immediately after leaving the bed, daily. Let us
come and take the 'Similar pledge'.
"Jai Hind-Jai Bharat!!”
