Want Freedom In India, Not From India, Says Kanhaiya Kumar | The Journey So Far

Kanhaiya Kumar got bail after the court castigated for the activities that happened in the university. The whole controversy is drawing to a close and even as the curtains are about to fall, we look back at the consequences and important developments in the whole issue.

Some of the important findings which have completely taken the air of the balloon are:

1.) Doctored Videos
The Magistrate report on the controversial Jawaharlal Nehru University event said that no ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised and words inciting violence were doctored. And it was found that a TV reporter was called to JNU event by the BJP youth wing ABVP. It is worth while noting that TV channel didn’t submit videos to magistrate despite being asked to.

2.) Shilpi Tewari
The role of Shilpi Tewari, who is said to be a close aide of HRD Minister Smriti Irani, has come into sharp focus in the JNU video controversy after a Delhi government-commissioned forensic report found that her twitter account hosted one of the allegedly ‘doctored’ JNU videos. The various video clips suggested that nowhere in the videos of February 9, when Kanhaiya Kumar, currently in judicial custody facing charges of ‘sedition’, was seen raising any ‘anti-national’ slogans.

3.) Court rapping the Delhi Police

“Everybody says 124A is very serious. Do you know what it is? It can be punishable with less than three years imprisonment or only fine or can be very serious.” the court asked. The court also went on to ask “Does the video recording show he was raising slogans? He says he was present but was he raising slogans?”

4.) National & International support and condemnation

Even as the case was unfolding and concluding, a large number of students, professors and academics from India and across the world have made their voice heard. Protests were organised. Indian-Americans gathered at Washington Square Park to support JNU Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and other students who were arrested on sedition charges in February. Some of the others who have lent support includes
1.) New York University (NYU) and the Cooper Union college in New York
2.) Indo-Canadian students, the faculty and staff from Univeristy of British Columbia
3.) Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have openly come forward in support of the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
4.) Teachers at Delhi University
5.) Professional Staff Congress, the City University of New York faculty and staff union (PSC-CUNY)
6.) Academics, Students, Writers, Academics and Activists from Australia.
7.) U.S Community Organisations.
8.) Students and Faculty at Johns Hopkins University, U.S.
9.) Academicians in Gujarat
10.) Students at Cornell University, U.S.
11.) South Asian Communities at Tufts and Harvard Universities, U.S
12.) Students, Faculty and Other Workers at Duke University, U.S

JNU’s Reputation

JNU University, one of the foremost and prestigious universities in India which has contributed some of the finest artists, bureaucrats, policymakers, engineers and a whole lot of others who have made their mark in building the nation. The media coverage and the branding of University in various shades have resulted in placements prospects getting hurt besides a sense of nervousness has crept into other students especially the non-political students who were mere bystanders in the whole episode.

Role Of Media
How well the media handled the situation can itself be debated by the citizens of the country. Even as you debate over this, consider the following questions
1.) Did the media play its role effectively by informing citizens?
2.) Was 2 weeks of full coverage over one university issue justified?
3.) Was the media too quick to jump to conclusions on the characters of Kanhaiya, Umar and others who were arrested in the University?
4.) Did the media inform or invoke passion among its viewers?

The Logical Indian re-iterates, anyone found guilty of activities that violate our constitution must be brought to the books after a fair investigation. Having said that, we are seriously concerned with how one issue highjacked the attention of the media and the consciousness of the entire nation, even as we as a country are facing serious issues which deserve our attention and action. We commend many citizens of our country who waited for the facts of the issue to come out before any conclusions could be drawn. We request our citizens not to let every issue draw fissures among ourselves, let us discuss, get informed, debate, conclude and solve things.

If you haven’t been following the issue. Here are the two articles with detailed coverage:

1. All You Need To Know About The JNU Controversy And The Logical Indian’s Opinion On The Issue
2. Opinion: The Logical Indian Stands With JNU But Not With The Culprits; Sequence Of Events So Far