Modi's India is divided between 'patriot' and 'Pakistani'
On February 15, JNU Student's Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar was produced in Patiala House court. The atmosphere was tense, not only in and around the court premises, but also across the country. The court witnessed violent scenes, while the debate turned vitriolic and polarised on social media.
In that charged atmosphere, a message landed in my hostel buddies' WhatsApp group. The message suggested that JNU students and teachers have forced lawyers to beat them up. They had repeatedly shouted slogans like "Pakistan Zindabaad" inside the court premises despite being warned.
The message went on to say "unfortunately for mediapersons they were mistaken to be JNU students and were beaten too." The message was sent by a lawyer friend, justifying the violence. In his view, it was "patriotic cause". I had instantly objected to such justification but to my utter surprise, many of my friends came out in support of that misleading message.
Some even tried to paint me as a person sympathetic to the cause of secessionist forces. In an instant I became a Congress agent or worse a Left sympathiser. While no one, outright, called me a traitor or an anti-national, some of the messages did hint as much. I assume what restrained the use of such hard and harsh words is our past association that goes back more than two decades.
Two days later, on February 17, the situation turned more volatile. In open defiance of the Supreme Court order, a few lawyers again attacked mediapersons and Kanhaiya Kumar inside the same Patiala House Court premises. TV visuals showed the same group of lawyers, who took part in the previous violence, again going on a rampage. They were chanting "Vande Mataram" and waving the tricolour while hunting for "traitors".
A panel of lawyers sent by the Apex Court to assess the situation at the Patiala House expressed shock at the situation there. They told the SC bench that the police failed to comply with the Apex Court order of providing security to the accused. Senior lawyer Rajeev Dhawan, who was part of the panel, told the court that they were abused and called "Pakistan ke dalle (pimps of Pakistan)" and other names. Kapil Sibal, another member of the panel, added that flower pots, bottles and pebbles were thrown at them. Ironically, those who were toeing the line of the highest court of the land became "Pakistan ke dalle".
The legal fraternity, it seemed, was clearly divided and following the India Today investigation - Operation Patiala House, which exposed the lawyers who had resorted to hooliganism, a group of 200 lawyers from the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and lower courts asked the Bar Council to take action against them.
With journalists facing physical violence, one would have expected to witness a show of solidarity within the Fourth Estate. But that was not the case. A video that showed Kanhaiya Kumar shouting slogans, purportedly for the freedom of Kashmir, was aired on some TV news channels. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had played the video during a prime-time debate on Times Now.
There was direct bickering between Times Now and The Wire over whether Times Now had used the doctored video in its telecast or not. India Today TV showed how this video could have been doctored. When journalists held a protest march in Delhi, the focus was more on those who gave the protest a miss... and it was proven that the fourth pillar of democracy too was riven by cracks like any other profession.
In a polarised polity, three members of legislative assemblies, all owing allegiance to the BJP added further fuel. Om Prakash Sharma, BJP MLA from Delhi, was seen assaulting a CPI leader at Patiala House Court complex. Defending his act, he said, "Mein goli bhi maar deta agar bandook hoti. Koi hamari Ma ko gaali dega to kya usey maaroge nahin (I would have opened fire if I had a gun. If someone abuses our mother, won't you beat him up)." Kailash Chaudhary, a BJP MLA from Rajasthan called Rahul Gandhi a "traitor" and said he should be "hanged" and "shot" for siding with "anti-national" students at JNU.
Another BJP MLA from Rajasthan, Gyandev Ahuja said that 50,000 pieces of bones, 3,000 used condoms, 500 used abortion injections, 10,000 cigarette "pieces", among other things, are found at JNU daily, where girls and boys dance naked in cultural programmes. With their foolish utterances, they have ensured that barring the BJP's allies, all parties now stand united against the ruling dispensation.
The Jadavpur University witnessed clashes between Left-backed student unions and BJP's student body ABVP. A few students of Jadavpur University were branded anti-national and abused and threatened at Benaras Hindu University (BHU), where they had gone to participate in a tournament. The Delhi University witnessed a clash between ABVP activists and students demanding release of Kanhaiya Kumar. While 30 students were detained in Chennai for condemning Kumar's arrest, many students of All India Students Association (AISA) were held by cops as they tried to carry out a march from BHU gate in Varanasi.
In Patna, Left-leaning student activists backed by RJD and NCP have tried to vandalise the BJP's local office. Similar reports of clashes have come in from places like Udaipur, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad and others.
It looks like every university in India stands divided today.
So, in India, the lines are drawn and the daggers out. If you are opposing Delhi Police's crackdown on the JNU students, you are a traitor. If you question the right of "patriotic lawyers" to dispense street justice, you have to be an anti-national. If you are not endorsing the government's stand you are a Pakistani. Today, you are either a patriot or a traitor. There is no space in between.
It's ironical that in the land of Lord Buddha, who taught the middle path to the world, there is no path left in the middle today. Looks like a flag-waving, chest-thumping hysterical rant is the acceptable badge of honour for an Indian citizen...and speaking out against xenophobia is no longer an option.
Talking about India's world view we often quote the Sanskrit phrase "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", which means, "the world is one family". But, sadly, India's introspective view for today is that of a family that can be bound together by only one view and one ideology else the family be damned as be the nation.