Who is RSS to judge JNU?

Intolerance is a very dangerous phenomenon in a multi-cultural pluralist country. Our parents and grandparents remember how quickly communal amity turned to communal hatred in a matter of months, after the Muslim League-Congress talks broke down. The RSS, which was virtually absent from the freedom struggle after its birth in 1925, contributed to the rise in religious hatred, as did the Muslim League. One million died in the Partition holocaust. But the same rhetoric that led to disaster is rising again. Soon after Narendra Modi took office, his minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti divided Indians into "ramzadas" and "haramzadas". The cycle of intolerance began with a bang.

In recent months, the "beef" card was played. RSS accusations were made against Muslims for eating beef. Gandhi, who was a vegetarian, publicly spoke of the right of Muslims to eat beef. Babasaheb Ambedkar, while warning Dalits to not eat dead cattle that they were asked to skin by caste Hindus, did not bar them from eating beef. VD "Veer" Savarkar, a Hindutva icon, publicly supported the sale and eating of beef, as a valuable source of protein for the poor.

Yet in Bisada, Dadri, Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched a couple of months ago, for allegedly slaughtering a cow. Union Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma virtually accused Akhlaq stating "perhaps there was a trail of blood" from the latter's house. Sangeet Singh Som threatened to take action if the "innocent" were harassed, meaning the Hindus who attacked Akhlaq. Interestingly, Som is part owner of a buffalo meat exporting company. Article 48 does not ban cow/buffalo slaughter on religious grounds, but in order to preserve and improve the breeds. In any case, a Directive Principle of State Policy Article 48 is not binding. Ironically, the most precious of the cow/bull breeds are flourishing in Brazil where they have cow slaughter, but have declined in India.

In Ballabgarh, just a month ago, two Dalit children were burnt to death by Rajputs despite a police cordon. Haryana CM ML Khattar, claimed this had nothing to do with caste. Union minister VK Singh argued that blaming the government for this murder was like accusing someone for throwing a stone at a dog! In the last two years, three famous rationalists were murdered. Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi were gunned down by unknown assailants, ostensibly belonging to Hindu hardline groups. No one has yet been arrested. The Sahitya Akademi did not respond. One by one, at least 41 writers returned their awards, who were soon joined by eminent members from the film fraternity, while others resigned from their positions in the Akademi.

Arun Jaitley dismissed it as a "manufactured" protest and "political intolerance," a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. When Shah Rukh Khan bemoaned the culture of intolerance, Sadhvi Prachi told him to go to Pakistan. At least thrice has President Pranab Mukherjee, in the space of a few weeks, called for tolerance and communal amity. There has been no solid support from the prime minister. Latest is JNU's turn. My university, of which I am an alumnus, and faculty, have been charged of being "anti-national" and a "hub of terror," in the latest issue of Panchjanya, the RSS' official mouthpiece. JNU, in the latest university ratings round by the National Academic and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was rated #No.1 in the whole of India.

So how is the RSS going to judge us? Some of us come from freedom fighters' families. Many more fought the Emergency, were jailed, banned, suspended, etc. But we are known for fighting for causes, just as our academic credentials are universally admired. Incidentally, the RSS-controlled ABVP has significant representation in the JNU Students' Union. In the Modi government, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an alumnus of JNU.

But the forces of intolerance and communalism are not going to stop. We must be prepared for secular, democratic and all-embracing struggle for the return to a civil, constitutional and secular democracy. This country has faced many challenges. Satyamey Jayate!