A COUNTRY WITHOUT A POST OFFICE ... JNU protest in 2016 ::::: They tried and failed ::::: 'Arab Spring' or Nepal formula of regime change were tried in India too ....But they failed ::: Modi has been "lucky" and Team Namo could handle things better

 Time may heal every wound; but at the same time life is never a fairy tale. 

In the case of Modi Govt, they have faced challenges. The experiments we see those brought down regimes in Dhaka and Kathmandu were witnessed in New Delhi also. But it is political acumen of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team over the years that they have able to brave through the hurdles. Let us look back. 

A high profile political controversy emerged in 2016. It made headlines and it gave slogans. It was also debated in parliament for hours.

But a year later in 2017 it was 'revealed' that Hyderabad University 'Dalit scholar' Rohith Vemula did not commit suicide because of any pressure exerted by the then union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya or university's Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile.

It was a decision "of his own",  the inquiry commission has found.

"The suicide did not relate to any activities of the university administration or the political leaders (then HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya), including Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile. It was wholly a decision of his own. His suicide note is on the record, which shows that Rohith Vemula had his own problems and was not happy with the worldly affairs," said the report of the commission set up by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry.

The one-man commission was headed by Allahabad High Court judge (retd.) A.K. Roopanwal. It was constituted in 2016 following Vemula's suicide that triggered protests by students in Hyderabad and elsewhere.

The report also claimed -- "He (Vemula) did not blame anybody for his suicide. If he would have been angry with the decision of the university, certainly either he would have written in specific words or would have indicated in this regard....

"This shows that the circumstances prevailing in the university at that time were not the reason for committing suicide," it said.

The report also sought to clarify that Vemula did not belong to the Scheduled Castes category. He came from "Vaddera" community, and thus belonged to the OBC category. 

So even the push in social media and mainstream media that Rohith was a Dalit was a motivated campaign to tarnish the image of the Modi Govt as 'anti-Dalit'. 

"The evidence on record shows that she (Vemula's mother) belongs to Vaddera community and, therefore, the Scheduled Castes certificate issued to Rohith Vemula cannot be said to be a genuine one and he was not a Scheduled Caste person," it said. 

Vemula's mother V. Radhika claimed to hail from "Mala" community, which is considered a Scheduled Caste. After getting divorce from her husband V. Manikumar -- who belonged to Vaddera community -- in 1990, she alone raised Vemula.

Moreover, the commission did not find any proof of discrimination against Vemula on account of his caste, which could have eventually led to his suicide. 

Bheema Koregaon protest

In 2018, a nationwide crackdown was launched by the BJP-led Maharashtra Govt (police) and five prominent Left-wing activists were arrested.

The arrests were made on August 28th (2018) in connection with violence at Bhima Koregaon on January 1 that year. 

The police said that they have links outlawed Naxals leading to many critics of the Left-wing activism dubbing these people as "urban Naxals" on social media.

Those arrested are writer-poet P Varavara Rao, 

lawyers Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Farreira and Vernon Gonzalves, and Gautam Navalakha. 

Police said that they funded Elgar Parishad conclave on December 31, 2017  when inflammatory speeches were made. 

Violence had erupted the following day at Bhima Koregaon during a commemorative event the next day. At a later stage some other arrests were made and a few hit international headlines due to obvious reasons.

Along with 15 others, Jesuit Father Stan Swamy Swamy was accused of a role in instigating mob violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune on Jan. 1, 2018.

The violence left one dead and several others hurt.

All the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case were "leading academics" writers and "human rights activists" -- namely Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, and poet Varavara Rao.

As a backgrounder -- we know in 1818, the battle of Bhima Koregaon was fought between the Maratha confederacy and the British East India Company, whose forces included members of the Dalit community.  

Connect the dots - as they put it. 

"Lucky" --- survivor Namo 

The 84-year-old Swamy was arrested on Oct. 8, 2020, from his residence in Ranchi in eastern Jharkhand state.

He was accused of offenses such as sedition, having links with the outlawed Maoist group, and being part of a conspiracy to kill Modi.

Later he expired in a Mumbai hospital as a prisoner on July 5, 2021, after being denied bail.

There were spin masters at play at multiple levels. It was alleged that Swamy was arrested because he opposed the policies of the Modi Govt and tried to marshal tribal people to oppose BJP.

Conversion row vis-a-vis Christianity was also at play.

In fact, a recent report by Massachusetts-based Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm, claimed Swamy was arrested based on evidence planted on his computer’s hard drive by hacking it.

The most aggressive campaign against the Modi Govt was related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).  

The stir paralysed north east India. The violence in Assam led to cancellation of a high-profile diplomatic engagement between PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart.

Then came the now infamous 'Shaheen Bagh protest' --- this happened in Delhi and it was dubbed as a "peaceful sit-in protest"  on the faulty claim that CAA was anti-Muslim law. It was campaigned that Muslims would be debarred from citizenship where as the reality of CAA is something else.

It only pledged to 'give citizenship' to non-Muslims who would face discrimination in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The beneficiaries were Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. But the 'interpretation' and media hype was something else !! 

 

The so-called Shaheen Bagh protest began on December 15, 2019.  It was only a few months later Modi won a landslide victory. It also coincided the season of the Supreme Court verdict ordering construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya and also the abrogation of Art 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Dharma lasted until March 24, 2020. The protest was led by women (can you find the repeat of fomula somewhere) -- who blocked a major road at Shaheen Bagh area.

Protesters agitated against the citizenship issues of the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), in addition to police brutality, unemployment, and poverty, and for women's safety. 

The Delhi Police barricaded major roads in and around the area, affecting more than 100,000 vehicles a day and adding hours to some journeys. 

Following the North East Delhi riots, police presence in the area temporarily increased with over 1000 personnel being assigned to Shaheen Bagh. 

After the COVID-19 outbreak in India and subsequent government-enforced restrictions the protest continued for several days in a more controlled manner. 

Following the complete Covid19 lockdown imposed nationwide on 23rd March 2020, the remaining protesters were arrested or forcefully removed from the site by the Delhi Police.

Highlights -- some days saw over 150,000 at the venue. 

The protest inspired similar copycat protests across the country, such as those in Gaya, Kolkata, Prayagraj, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

In Kolkata even slogans were raised such as "Manipur maange Azadi'.

The protests were also similar to Tukde Tukde gang episode of Delhi when an effort was made to make a hero out of those Muslims who were hanged after due legal process.

The Shahheed Bagh blockade became a campaign issue in the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections too. 

Similar protests and violence were seen also in Manipur in 2023. The conflicts - however- came out later as ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis.  There were many others including the infamous farmers' protest and which resulted even in derailing a key farm reform initiative.

With regard to JNU protest of 2016, it is worth recalling how Late Arun Jaitley had said in Rajya Sabha --- 

"Neither the NDA nor the BJP nor this Govt (under Modi) ever subscribes to this philosophy that only one idea must mature and grow in an university.

"We are entitled to be criticised, I have absolutely no difficulty with that ..... But I regret to say that which actually is the core issue and that squarely relates not to the amount of academic license........... some amount of radical romancing can also take place.

"But the core question is .... are we going to give respectability to those whose primary ideology that they want to break this country. After all what has happened in the case of two persons alleged to be involved in terrorist actions and convicted by the highest court ... you had the Bombay case of 1993...... Can anybody that his martyrdom should be celebrated?

"Let us very clear about the kinds of functions organised at Hyderabad and JNU. What was the programme in JNU.....a circular is taken out ..... a pamphlet ..... here is a group of people who called for a cultural programme on Feb 9 (2016). The pamphlet and the poster is titled ... A COUNTRY WITHOUT A POST OFFICE .... Is desh ki yeh halat kar do ki iska ata pata na rahe".

Any takers ?

  

ends