News Kashmir Exclusive
The prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University students protest against the 2013 hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has turned into a big row and generated outrage after it was publicised in the mainstream media. The students, allegedly seen shouting slogans supporting Afzal Guru and Kashmiri separatism triggered the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP’s student wing, who wrote to the Vice Chancellor that such marches should not be held on campus.
This prompted fierce protests from students and teachers in the university. JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday on charges of sedition. The university also barred eight students — whom they didn’t name — from academic activities pending an inquiry into the events.
The violence on journalists and students by some lawyers has give rise to another controversy .
Voices are expressing their angst over the issue. Bilal Bhat, a Delhi based kashmiri journalist and activist. He is the chairman of JK youth civil society. While talking to News Kashmir he states -“To disrupt the the democratic atmosphere of JNU which is known for freedom of speech and expression . in last three years there was a significant rise of involvement of kashmiri students who by and large feel alienated in their own country.JNU gave them a soothing shoulder to raise their voice . Many kashmiri students were seen active in terms of running the campus union raising various issues concerning the country. Agencies became apprehensive and hatched a conspiracy to malign the union .”
Reflecting on the issue eminent journalist of India Seema Mustafa wrote -“Have you ever bothered to ask why a particular kind of love for the motherland, professed for instance, by the lawyers as they beat up students and journalists at the Patiala court, is always expressed through vitriol and violence? And why suddenly India is no bigger than Pakistan in her democracy and her vibrancy, and how suddenly debate and dissent—even by young students—becomes a threat to the nation.”
On the otherhand, while leading AIP’s solidarity march with JNU students MLA Langate Engineer Rashid stated that India has lost moral ground to abuse Pakistan. Er Rasheed said that people of J&K are thankful to all those saner voices especially the youth who are raising voice in favor of Kashmiris at JNU, Calcutta and other places. Er Rasheed stated, “Congress and BJP are trying to score the political points with regard to this uprising in the educated class of India but need to understand that the uprising is not for Congress or against BJP but the Indian youth has started feeling pain of Kashmiris. The sedition charges on Mr. S.A.R Geelani are unacceptable and illogical and just an attempt to please a very small section of rightest forces and a section of biased media.” Er Rasheed added that GoI has not been able to curb the voice of Kashmiris despite using all shameless measures and sooner or later it will have to resolve Kashmir. He said, “The protests being carried out in prestigious universities are being attended by students and scholars of all most of all states without caring for caste, creed and religion. As such New Delhi has lost the argument of blaming Pakistan in interfering into internal affairs of India. Er Rasheed said that despite the fact that national media has always been biased and harsh towards Kashmiris, every Kashmiri deems it his duty to condemn the assault by ultra-nationalist lawyers on senior journalists in Delhi and added that world community should know if these so called protectors of law, can mishandle and abuse those who have similar views as of them about Kashmir, what would they do with those who differ with them in their ideology and views.
Undoubtedly, JNU for the moment is generating heated politics over the issue.
