Kanhaiya Kumar is no role model. Don't make him one
There's a famous Sanskrit proverb that goes, "Vinaash Kaale, vipreet buddhi." Translated into English, that would mean, "When you're doomed, your mind malfunctions."
Sadly, the no-holds-barred, vituperative and obnoxious campaign against the government by the usual suspects has that proverb smeared all over it. There seems to be a psychotic desperation to somehow discover or even manufacture heroes who stand the remotest chance of unsettling the present establishment.
If there were an iota of credibility in their angst against the government, one would still have been sympathetic. But right now, it's an all out war to merely disturb a performing government, create civil strife and destabilise the nation. Let me explain here why it is a colossal disservice to the future generations of the country to project either Kanhaiya or Vemula as a role model.
First of all, the speech given by Kanhaiya, which many are raving about, has the typical Communist hoodwinking tactics written all over it. It is skeptical of the entire system, without feeling the need to offer solutions. And obviously if Kanhaiya had any solution for anything, he wouldn't be rotting in JNU at 28, waiting for that serendipitous stroke of luck to make him a household name.
Coming back to Kanhaiya's speech, he has made a mockery of the very system that has enabled him, the son of an angadvadi worker to come out of age old clutches and stand where he is today. If the system were oppressive or did not endeavor to provide equal opportunities to all, his journey till here would not have been possible.
A Dalit friend of mine points out something interesting: Kanhaiya belongs to the Bhumihar community in Bihar which has traditionally meted out the worst atrocities to the Dalits in the state. So while its smart lip-service for Kanhaiya to call Rohith Vermula his hero, it would have helped if he also spoke about Ranvir Sena which has carried out many Dalit massacres and which finds enormous respect in Kanhaiya's community.
Unless if Kanhaiya suffers from selective amnesia or unless he believes that Dalit persecution is a recent Modi creation, he ought to educate his supporters on the Dalit massacres in Bihar over the past several decades. And rest assured Modi or the BJP didn't have any role to play in them.
There's another aspect which is quite worrying about people's desperation to create instant heroes out of Modi-haters: Speeches alone don't make a leader; you need to be an administrator. Communism and administration unfortunately are mutually exclusive and alien to each other.
Communism is designed towards intellectual escapism. So while every young communist is perhaps going to be excellent at spewing venom, don't fool yourself into believing that such jerks can ever be responsible leaders. Sadly, today the situation in the country is so psychotic and even if you spot a local vegetable vendor or a driver spewing venom upon the government, some people might be tempted to shoot a video of the rabble-rouser and make it viral, with a hope to create another "Kanhaiya".
And this is where one can't but worry about the unnatural and destructive behavioural tendencies of a large chunk of our population. Now let me explain why Rohith Vemula can't be a role-model.
Rohith can't be one, simply because by being a quitter, he has insulted the legacy of Ambedkar. He has set a wrong example to a large section of confident, self-made Dalits who are doing exceptionally well today and who don't even want to be reminded of age-old discrimination.
Lest you doubt what I am saying, take a look at this website of The Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The DICCI has a network of over 3000 Dalit entrepreneurs from across the country, supporting each other in re-writing history.
Unfortunately, most of the Indian media is so consumed in tragedy that it chooses to glorify a quitter like Vermula rather than progressive and self-made Dalits.
The way Rohith Vermula has been painted as a hero, God forbid, if it leads to another student drawing inspiration and committing suicide, only and only Kanhaiya, his blind supporters and the Indian media creating such fake icons will be responsible for it.
To all those who like to believe and propagate that India was a perfect land until two years ago and everything unwanted was brought about by one man, go get a life! India is an electoral democracy. The next general elections are due in 2019.
Bide your time and resources until then for the big fight instead of vitiating the public discourse every single day. To all those compulsive discourse-hijackers and to the usual media suspects, embark on a hot pursuit and discover a new Kanhaiya every month!
These Kanahiyas will crop up and soon disappear. However, the path to progress, prosperity and self-reliance of the nation, initiated by this government, will run its full course.
Those seeking freedom from imagined and hallucinated ills will eventually have to seek freedom from their vindictiveness and self-destructive propensities.