MoC: Dissent /on the wall
| << Pamphlets showcasing two opposed reactions to student politics. Labelled by liberals as dissent, it is coined as anti-national by Hindu nationalists. This specific selection engages with course of events surrounding the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president on charges of sedition in February 2016. This material is exhibited on a wall panel as part of the Memories of Change exhibition. |
Ye vijay tukra tukra gang ki vichardara ke kilaf shud rashtravad ke vijay ka, ye vijay pratik hai.
(This victory is against the break-break gang [reference to left student politics in Jawaharlal Nehru University], the victory of pure nationalism, this victory is its symbol).
The statement, pronounced on election result day by Bharatiya Janata Party President and endorsed by millions, is a testimony of the current public status of select few universities, accused of standing against the national interests of India. There has been a shift in how the anti-establishment politicised students have been marked by the state: from being dismissed as an irresponsible lot to being framed as a ‘cartel’ causing national discord. Two causus-belli precipitated a tilt in public discourse: on January 17, 2016, Rohith Vemula, a student activist of a Dalit student organisation in University of Hyderabad committed suicide after being suspended by its administration. Less than a month later, three representatives of the Students’ Union of Jawaharlal Nehru University were arrested, accused of supporting a protest in favour of Kashmir’s self-determination. The protests it triggered, as well as the public discontent against the demonisation of free-speech reshaped the destiny of campus-based political cohorts for the foreseeable future.
Cover-page of the 1971 Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Constitution. 1980.
First page of the 1971 Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Constitution. 1980.
Cartoon deriding the Vice Chancellor and then registrar of Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
Anonymous group calling for a protest march against ‘anti-nationals’ student activists at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the day of the arrest of the then Students’ Union President. 2016.
On the day of the arrest of the then Students’ Union President. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad denouncing the so-called pro-Naxalite, pro-Independent Kashmir stand that it attributes to the communist student organisations in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
Few days after the arrest of three student activists. Placard questioning the nationalist foundations of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
Few days after the arrest of three student activists. Placard questioning the nationalist foundations of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
First pamphlet of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union in the aftermath of the ‘9 Feb event’, on the eve of the arrest of the then Students’ Union President in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
All India Students’ Association pamphlet in the aftermath of the ‘9 Feb event’, on the eve of the arrest of the then Students’ Union President in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2016.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad protest call against ‘anti-nationals’ student activists at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the day of the arrest of the then Students’ Union President. 2016.