Do Educational Institutions need
lectures on Patriotism?
Ram Puniyani
The issues related to our
educational institutions-patriotism started coming up to the fore with this Government
coming to power (May 2014). One after the other news of Government intervention
in different institutions, more so the nationally well known ones started
disturbing us. There was the case of IIT Madras where Periyar Ambedkar Study
Circle was banned. Then IIT Bombay Director Prof Shevgaonkar resigned due to
high handed attitude of the Ministry of MHRD. Close to follow suit was Prof
Anil Kakodkar who resigned from the Chairmanship of the Board of Governors of
IIT Bombay again.
The case of FTII Pune dragged for
a long time as students opposed the appointment of a RSS-BJP sympathizer, a B
grade film actor, Gajendra Chauhan. Students went on for a long strike and
after trying to make their point for eight long months, withdrew their strike
as the recalcitrant government refused to heed to the demands of students. Many
other incidents kept happening including those of Allahabad University,
Ferguson College in Pune among others. Two incidents which stood out and shook
the student community were related to Hyderabad Central University (HCU) and
the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). In both these cases the issue of
nationalism, patriotism was thrown up by the Central government, along with the
ruling BJP and its associates in RSS combine.
In HCU the local BJP MP, on
insistence from the ABVP branch of the university wrote to MHRD Minister that
anti-national and casteist activities are going on and action should be taken
against the students belonging to Ambedkar Students Association (ASA). Incidentally
the ASA was opposed as they had organized meetings which were opposed by ABVP
as per their political agenda. The incidents were, screening of the film
Muzzafarnagar Baki hai, a film on Muzzafarnagar violence in UP. Then there was
beef festival. On participation in beef festival Vemula wrote on his face book that
he participated in the festival as solidarity with those who consume beef. Then
there was a meeting to oppose the death penalty to Afzal Guru. The argument of
ASA was that the death penalty is inhuman and it is opposite of what the norms
of a civil society should be.
Following this; the Vice Chancellor,
under pressure from Ministry expelled Vemula from the hostel and stopped his
fellowship. This is what forced him to take his life. In the case of JNU, the
issue of patriotism was brought up in a deliberate way. In a program organized
in JNU some masked students came in and shouted anti India slogans. Kanhiaya
Kumar and two other friends were not a part of this slogan shouting gang. Incidentally
the slogan shouters have not been apprehended and identified so far, for the
reasons best known to the authorities. On the contrary the authorities arrested
Kanhaiya, Amirban and Umar on the charges of sedition. A doctored video was
played repeatedly by some channels and it became clear that arrested student
leaders of JNU had nothing to do with anti India sloganeering. Incidentally the
occasion was that of the anniversary of Afzal Guru. As far Afzal Guru is
concerned lesser said the better! BJP after hectic deliberations have tied up
with the PDP in Kashmir and PDP upholds Afzal Guru as a martyr and someone was
who did not get justice. So it becomes clear that BJP is using the JNU issue to
build up an emotive issue out of the whole thing.
One knows that such slogans have
been there in Kashmir, on similar lines talks of secession have been there in
North Eastern states. The demand for secession from Indian was raised also
raised C.N.Annadurai of DMK, a prominent leader from Tamil Nadu, who had
opposed the imposition of Hindi as a national language. In nut shell there are
different places in the world where the part of the nations have been demanding
autonomy or separation. That has not been presented as an act of anti
nationalism. Many groups and political tendencies have criticized the ruling governments,
but that is not what sedition is. This is a right inherent in democratic
society.
Even in India there have been
various groups which from time to time have been demanding autonomy, secession
etc. In countries there are diverse political tendencies and they do keep
changing with time. It is a question of their dissatisfactions being met. Students-youth
are groups where all types of ideas and ideologies are discussed. There is a
long tradition anti-British Nationalist struggle by student bodies like All
India Students Federation and likes of them. They were not lectured by so
called nationalists to become patriotic. During freedom movement the most
patriotic role was played by the followers of Gandhi who were learnt by the
example of the national movement.
Even at that time the youth and
students influenced by communal ideology of Muslim League and Hindu
Mahasabha-RSS kept aloof from the patriotic act of participation in nation
building, the freedom struggle. One recalls that even the earlier Prime Minister
of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was arrested in 1942 as he was n onlooker in the
movement led by students-youth inspired by Gandhi. Vajpayee in a letter to
authorities confessed that he had nothing to do with the national movement and
he was released from prison in two days time. (http://www.frontline.in/
Universities and other
educational institutions are the places where patriotism is in-built in our
syllabus and pattern of society. One has never been thinking of such lecturing
as is being indulged in by the RSS combine. The cases of JNU and HCU
demonstrate that this patriotism is being manufactured as an emotive issue for
dividing the society. This has been linked with the slogan of “Bharat Mata Ki
Jai’. The way Bhagwat first called for the need to teach this slogan to youth,
and the way Asaduddin Owaisi responded to that shows that both these groups are
in for bringing up Bharat Mata ki jai as a divisive issue, RSS-Bhagwat is
having an aggressive stance on this issue. The position of Constitution as seen
in the Jehovah’s Witnesses case is that one should respect the national symbols
but it is not mandatory to chant or shout any slogan as such is not a must.
In that sense patriotism stands
for following the laws in our Constitution, abiding by them. Criticism of
ruling government can’t be equated with anti-Nationalism. So the present exercises
in imposing slogans etc have nothing to do with patriotism. It is being used as
a political tool. We need to overcome the sectarian tendencies like that of
Bhagwat, Devendra Fadanvis, Baba Ramdev who are trying to force such non important
issues on the society. Baba Ramdev’s statement is very frightening. There is a
very apt phrase, “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels’ I will like to
modify that to ‘In India patriotism is being made the refuge by pseudo
nationalists for their political goals’.
Our educational institutions need
to cultivate the culture of debate and dialogue even with dissenting voices;
the need is to promote the deeper values of Indian nationalism and humanism.
