Forget Che, Kanhaiya not even a Kejriwal if he insults Indian Army
Kanhaiya Kumar went to jail on the charges of sedition after the alleged pro-Afzal Guru event at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He was granted interim bail for six months by the Delhi High Court on conditions, and got a heroic reception from the students at the campus on March 3.
Soon after that, he made a prolific and electrifying speech at the campus which was grand enough to catch the imagination of pro-Left students, and of course provide fodder for the media to satisfy their hunger for sensational newsroom wars.
Gaining some consciousness, he declared, "My role model is Rohith Vemula, not Afzal Guru."
I am not going to explore the sense or senselessness of the role model statement made by the so-called Indian Che Guevara. But there are certain elements which make Kanhaiya Kumar irrelevant as a leader in the context of India's socio-political ecosystem.
The best example was his latest speech in the backdrop of Women's Day. "No matter how much you try to stop us, we will speak up against human rights violations. We will raise our voice against AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act). While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will still talk about the fact that in Kashmir women are raped by security personnel," Kanhaiya said while addressing some students on March 8.
This statement itself shows the immaturity and provocative nature of the JNU students union president who got bail after the police charged him with sedition. The statement against Indian Army can easily be bracketed under sedition as the context demands it.
And the worst part is that after mentioning the rape charges against Indian Army, he talked about the rapes during Rwanda war and ethnic conflicts in Africa. Look at this statement Kanhaiya made, according to an Indian Express report, "During war in Rwanda 1,000 women were raped. In Africa during the ethnic conflict, when military attacks other group firstly their women were raped. You take example of Gujarat; women were not just killed but were raped first."
No matter whatever was his intention, bracketing Indian Army with the likes of Rwanda and Africa for highlighting atrocities against women seems terribly disgusting and painful as far as an ordinary Indian is concerned. Kanhaiya's All India Students Federation (AISF) justified his views in this manner, "He made the remarks in context of atrocities on women worldwide and not just in Kashmir."
This is what we call selective outrage over women atrocities and human rights violations.
The isolated charges against the Indian Army in Kashmir would not qualify for a generalised perception as in the case of Rwanda. By highlighting the secluded instances in the Valley, Kanhaiya is intentionally trying to target the Army to achieve his short-term political gains. It is crystal clear from the selection and context of such a statement.
What are you trying to say, Kanhaiya? Knowingly or unknowingly, never try to compare the Indian Army with the soldiers of Rwanda and Africa or the insane rioters on the streets of Gujarat who engaged in killing each other in the name of religion.
Have you unlearnt about the organised rapes and attacks on women in the border villages of West Bengal in the name of religion? You were fined Rs 3,000 for misbehaving with a girl student of JNU in last October, after she asked you to not urinate in the open inside the campus. What's the point of speaking against women atrocities after indulging in such shameful acts?
What's your logic to not raise voice against the brutal rapes of Kashmiri Pandit women two decades back in the Valley? After an organised campaign of religious terror, murder, loot, and arson by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were evacuated from their homeland. Could you give a convincing reason why it does not come under your version of human rights violations?
And, what about the organised terror against Hindu women in Pakistan who are forced to convert religion or accept death? Like other comrades, you are also a mute spectator of the inhuman occupation of Tibet by China and human rights violations of Buddhist monks.
Toeing the lines of clichéd Indian communist leaders, you have crafted your own dictionary for human rights and terror. So, the BJP doesn't need to be worried about the media attention you have been getting since the alleged pro-Afzal event.
You will be marked as a temporary phenomenon in Indian politics, if you are going on the lines of pre-defined Left school of thought. Not Indian Che, chances are little for you to become an Arvind Kejriwal.