Dr. Singh is the founder of the Indic Center at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA. He has served as  professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University specializing in research related to one of the most poisonous toxins called botulinum. It is used as a drug to arrest symptoms of Neuro-Muscular disorders. He has received several prestigious awards for teaching and research including the Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award and the nomination for the US professor of the year. He is also very interested in the science of philosophy and its relationship to ancient and modern society. 

JNU is a complex campus, with multiple voices including a vociferous group associated with left political parties. JNU campus has had history of spirited political debates right from its inception. It has been on the forefront of political debates, in part its chancellor used to be India’s Prime Minister until early 1980s, and in part it had left leaning faculty at least in the humanities and social sciences. This background is needed to answer your question. Left parties have been consistently losing power in India, first by losing elections of their own, then Congress Party which had partnered with them also losing badly, and there is a chance now with corruption free Prime Minister to transform India economically, thus the source of mass support for the left ideology. I believe they are in panic mode, and have devised a tactics to create chaos in India by raising provocative issues. Three of the found JNU student union office bearers belong to left political parties, including extremist groups. These student leaders on cue from their political masters are playing a game plan hatched by leftist extreme groups, using their faculty supporters on the campus. What could be more provocative than open support for a convicted terrorist belonging to a minority section of the society? It will have political fallout garnering votes in upcoming elections in states of like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

 

 

I am not sure if most of the students of JNU knew Umar Khalid’s background. He had been a member of an organization called Democratic Student Union at JNU campus, which is a minor group of just a few students. As I mentioned above JNU is a complex campus with relatively small but vocal group of leftist students. Left party based students belong to cadres, and receive support from faculty. He received support from these students and their sympathizers, who are estimated to number less than 500 our 8,500 students. These left students’ main target is Modi government at the Center. They probably knew that by raising antinational slogans in support of the convicted terrorist they will draw the ire of students belonging to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is the student wing of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). He is making a well calculated political moves to provoke the government so that the left can tarnish its image as intolerant. He also seems to be connected to Kashmir separatists and Pakistani agents, and actually used tactics and even slogans normally raised in Kashmir and Pakistan.

 

 

I was student of JNU during 1977-1983 period, and was also part of student union 1978-1982. In addition, I was a visiting professor during the spring of 2015 teaching a course on Science and Technology in Sanskrit. I have been in touch with my colleagues over all these years on research and teaching collaborations. JNU has been considered as India’s best university over the years. It is mostly a graduate school, bringing relatively more mature students. It has had wonderful culture of student politics based on discussion and debates. It is mostly a residential campus providing students space for close interactions. It has been a left bastion since its inception, which has developed a culture of so called progressive ideology for the poor and oppressed. Getting admission into JNU is tough, which allows it to select some of the best students academically. It encourages students from all over India, and provides heavy subsidy for their room, board, and tuition. For example, the room charge in JNU about Rs. 10 a month and tuition is about Rs. 20 a month, both have remained the same since my time 40 years ago. A lot of students come from relatively poor families, who get lured into the left’s struggle for poor. They start thinking that their support of the left leaning groups will bring revolution like what happened in Russia, China, etc. There is a core group of faculty in social sciences which brazenly supports this idea and helps students to raise outlandish issues and their militant means. Intellectuals in general, and leftist intellectuals, in particular are feeling uncomfortable with a party in power which invokes indigenous values and inspirations. Also, it is difficult for them to digest a prime minister who is not educated in the West and comes from a background of modest means.

 

As long as Delhi police entered the campus with permission from the University authorities I see no problems. So far, I understand that has been the case, and hope will remain to be so. So far, courts, including the Supreme Court, in India have agreed with the police in extending the custody of the arrested individual. My only concern is how come the police was not able to arrest the others who have been accused of treason or sedition? They should be held accountable for any lapse in that regard. 

This is not the first time police have entered JNU. During my six years in JNU I remember JNU being closed sine-a-die at least two times, and heavy police presence was invited at least one of those occasions. In April 1983 as many as 700 students were arrested, and put in Tihar jail. Those days the issues raised by students at least on the campus were student related. There were always discussions about international issues, but student agitations were about students. This time students booked a venue for a cultural event of poetry reading, but then changed it into an unauthorized celebration of the martyrdom of a convicted terrorist who had attacked the very foundation of India’s democracy, the Parliament. Police did not enter the campus to stop the martyrdom march but rather to register cases against the students who shouted anti-India (for breaking India, and eulogizing executed terrorist invoking religious invocation) and pro-Pakistan slogans. There are serious charges of sedition against 7-9 students based on the prima facie report submitted by the JNU administration. Police enters the campus only after the permission by the administration.

Just like most students of JNU did not support the small extremist left students in JNU raising antinational slogans, only a handful student and others at Harvard campus (one protest had six individuals and the other one had 23 total individuals) holding some placards in support of JNU. They hardly know the reality, and are there mostly to oblige some local friends. These events were mostly instigated by some Boston area sympathizers of JNU leftist groups.  Leftists in general and JNU leftists in particular have a network of left leaning intellectuals throughout the world, and activate them to spring in action for the public relation purpose. This helps them give an impression of worldwide outrage against their adversaries or in support of their cause. Western world in general has a mindset of civilizing the rest of the world, and this includes educational institutions and intellectuals in the West. It will be interesting to see if they will support a group which says that the US should destroyed until the execution of Osama bin Laden is avenged!

 

Thank God it has not come to that, although we do hear about the conspiracy theories about 911 and capture and death of Osama bin Laden. I think American society has matured about its democratic values, and its institutions have developed a culture of their behavior. I believe there is a consensus amongst the political parties about the national interest, and media in the US is very responsible unlike in India. Free speech is a weapon that is generally used by institutions and groups to be permissive about things they want promoted. Unfortunately freedom of speech is not applied uniformly.  Harvard students, faculty, and administration did not consider free speech of Professor Subramaniam Swamy when they cancelled his courses in Harvard a few years ago citing some statements Swamy had made about the genetic origin of Muslims in India! Harvard students or JNU students did not raise the issue of freedom of speech when leftists objected to Yoga guru Baba Ramdev coming to the JNU campus to speak on Vedanta!

 

Any other comments?  

 

I feel ashamed of some of the old felllow JNUites who are running to their foreign mai-baap with lies of massive rallies in Delhi in support of JNU extreme left. On the contrary, the JNU alumni association, JNU teachers (contradicting JNU Teacher Association being led by a communist party of India leftist), JNU karmachari union, even janitorial staff, and area housing owners, have all condemned the antinationals in JNU. It may in fact be a transformational moment for the society of India. This issue has become an issue of deep divide between the left intellectuals and the common citizenry of India.