Photo credit: NDTV

Universities are an important place for shaping the mind and opinions of the future generations. A free open debate, intermingling of different opinions, castes, and religions shapes the students towards humane inclusive values. The academic work along with the idealism of youth adds up to the better perceptions of World and society. With new dispensation coming to power from last couple of years the matters are being influenced in a narrow direction by various means, one of which is preventing the debates, the other is a more alarming, to create pretexts to attack the liberal democratic tendencies within the campus. The matters which developed in Ramjas College (22^nd February 2017 onwards) give an idea of the plan of right wing politics as far as atmosphere in Universities is concerned.

A two days seminar was organized, two of the speakers being Omar Khalid and Shehla Rashid. On the pretext that they are anti national, the seminar was obstructed-stopped and students and teachers who were for holding the seminar were attacked on the ground of supporting anti national ideas. The attack was done by ABVP, the student wing of RSS. Next day they practically held the teachers and students as hostage, not permitting them to go to the police station to lodge the FIR. Two of the teachers were openly beaten by these students. Following this a Tiranga (tricolor flag) march, was taken out. And the day next a huge ‘DU bachao’ (Save Delhi university) march participated by thousands of students-teachers and supporting students from other colleges also took place. It did show the degree of resistance to tactics of ABVP.

The attack on the Ramjas College-Delhi University is the latest in the series of attacks orchestrated by ABVP in different campuses. In Hyderabad Central University, the attack was launched on the ground that Anti-National, castiest activities are going on in the campus. What were these activities which were dubbed as anti national? The Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) had organized the screening of the film Muzzafarnagar Baki hai, (A film on Muzzafarnagar violence), had called for abolition of death penalty as a form of punishment (Yaqub Memon) and had organized beef festival in solidarity with those who consume beef in the country, as they are under attack from the ‘Holy Cow’ squads. It is too well known as to how institutional murder of Rohith Vemula took place and that led to the massive response all over the country as along with University autonomy the issue was also related to dalit issues, attack on Ambedkarite ASA.

How anti-nationalism as a weapon is constructed becomes clear if we put JNU and DU together in a sequence. In JNU, to put the things chronologically, some masked men had come, shouted the slogans. Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and their friends were arrested on the charges of sedition: anti-nationalism. The interesting point is that the CD which was shown repeatedly by a channel turned out to be a doctored CD and more interestingly while Kanhaiya Kumar and company were arrested, the masked men were not! The court gave bail to Kanhiaya Kumar, Umar Kahlid. Recently Mr. Arvind Kejriwal has accused that BJP-ABVP people themselves shout slogans and then flee.

Despite that; all the BJP spokespersons top down picked up that JNU, students were shouting ‘Bharat Ki barbadi’ (Destruction of India) type slogans. The point is despite a lapse of one year investigation is not clear; there are lots of holes in the story, raising lots of questions. In Ramjas College case also the name of Umar Khalid is being repeatedly thrown up. Umar Khalid has an opinion on Kashmir etc. which may not match with the opinion of those attacking him. The point is in the discussion and debate, should we bypass people with opinions different from ours’. More so when ABVP’s brother organization BJP is having a coalition Government with PDP in Kashmir and PDP has been soft to separatists at times. Clearly it seemed that BJP on one hand, as per RSS agenda wants to communalize the educational campuses and on the other intimidate those whose opinions are different from Hindu nationalist ideology.

The assertiveness of ABVP in indifferent campuses has gone up with the Modi Sarkar coming to power. Their indulgence in violence is due to the confidence that they can get away with whatever they do as they have mentors who are in the seat of power. This has given their aggression a boost like never before. One after the other colleges and universities are being targeted in the agenda of sectarianism. The case of Jai Narayan Vyas University (Jodhpur) is also a fairly recent one. One Prof Ranawat invited Prof Nivedita Menon of JNU for a talk. After the talk a complaint has been filed against the speaker and the organizer Prof Ranawat has been suspended. The matters are very disturbing. So what are the hopes for future?

In the aftermath of Rohith Vemula’s death; the nationwide uprising of students; and the coming to fore as issues of dalits has shaken the youth. Even in Ramjas College-Delhi University episode, while the ABVP’s Tiranga march drew a lukewarm response the liberal, progressive student groups’ ‘DU bachao march’ (Save Delhi University) was massive. At the same time the disturbing part of the whole episode is the trolling of Ramjas Student Gurmehar Kaur. She wrote a face book post that she is not afraid of ABVP that she is for Peace etc. In response BJP leaders and celebrities came down heavily on her. This has further infuriated the students and now there is a clear cut opinion for open debate in the campus. While ABVP debates through violence, the need to debate in seminar rooms is what is being supported by large section of students. The ploy to raise the bogey of Anti Nationalism, and indulge in violence may not work and the attempt to save the culture of debate and discussion in seminar rooms cannot be browbeaten easily.

This story was also published on India Resists.
 

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Representational image. Photo credit: Reuters

The biases and misconceptions about conversions and population growth have been used by communal forces to divide the society. This became apparent once again when Minister of state of Home, Kiren Rijuju tweeted that that Hindu population is decreasing in the country as Hindus don't convert and that minorities in India are flourishing unlike in the neighbouring countries.

Threat of decline in Hindu population and increase in population of minorities is being propagated time and over again. As per the data of 2011 census figures, Hindu population now stands at 79.8 % and Muslim population at 14.23%. “The data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 show that between 2001 and 2011, Hindu population grew by 16.76 per cent, while that of Muslims by 24.6 per cent. The population of both communities grew faster during the previous decade, at 19.92 per cent and 29.52 per cent, respectively. As a long-term trend, say demographers, the communities’ growth rates are converging.” This means that the decadal rates of growth of both communities is declining and converging closer to each other.

This is pointer to the fact that while charting out the future projections it is important to keep in mind that the rate of growth of Muslim population will be falling and will stabilise closer to that of rate of rise Hindu population. In the total population Muslims will remain a religious minority for the times to come. Interestingly, the population increase of Hindus during the period of 2001 to 2011 has been 133 millions, which is close to the total population of Muslims in 2001. The scare being spread through word of mouth campaign and through social media about Muslim population taking over the Hindu population holds no water, as there are clear trends of decline in the decadal rate of growth of Muslim population as well.

The demographers point out that the higher rates of fertility are due to lack of education and poor health facilities. Muslims in Kerala have a lower fertility rate than many Hindu communities in North India and even in Kerala. The economic profile of Kerala Muslims is much different than the Muslims in Assam, West Bengal, UP and Maharashtra for example. If we broaden this point we will see that the rise in population among Dalits (Schedule castes) and Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) is much higher as such . As per the 2011 census STs are 8.6% while they were 6.23 % according to 1951 census. SCs now are 16.6%, while as per 1951 they were around 15%.

As such the whole truth will show us that the propaganda of communal forces has nothing to do with reality of society and deeper causes of the same. It is in this background that the likes of Praveen Togadia who said that two child norm should be imposed, while the likes of Sakshi Maharaj and Sadhvi Prachi have been extolling the Hindus to produce more children.

BJP president Amit Shah has given the 'Look North East' call to raise the scare about the Christian population in the North East. This primarily tribal area saw an increase in percentage of Christians in the decades of 1931-1951. The rise in percentage of Christian population has a lot to do with the spread of civil administration with Independence and also with the spread of education in the region. Countrywide we can see that the percentage of Christians has been static over the last few decades.

If at all, it has declined and stabilised. If we see from 1971, we see that Christian population was 2.60% (1971), 2.44 (1981), 2.34 (1991), 2.30 (2001) and 2.30 (2011).

In the meanwhile the propaganda of missionary activities and increase in the number of Christians has dominated the scene. Anti-Christian violence came to public attention with the ghastly murder of Graham Stewarts Staines (1999). Dara Singh of Bajrang Dal, which is affiliated to RSS, incited the local people that the pastor is doing conversions which is against Hindus.

Wadhwa Commission which investigated pastor Staines murder concluded that he was not involved in conversions and that in Keonjhar, Manoharpur Orrisa where the pastor was working, there was no increase in the percentage of Christian population.

Similarly Kandhmal anti-Christian violence was unleashed on the pretext of murder of Swami Laxmananand. Gujarat also saw anti-Christian activities again due to propaganda that the missionaries are converting. At the same time we see that the national population of Christians remains static. Some people do allege that conversions to Christianity are there but the converts are hiding their religion, this is again a matter of conjuncture and nothing definite can be said. Any way it cannot be a large number in any case.

As such conversions have been a part of the agenda of Hindu nationalism times and over again. During freedom movement two parallel processes of conversions were going on. One was Tanzeem, which was to convert people to Islam, the other was Shuddhi which was aimed at those who were supposed to have left their 'religion-home' and were converted to alien religions.

The premise was that conversion to other religions has made them impure so they need to be brought back through a process of purification. Last several decades RSS-VHP-Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram have been active in what is called Ghar Wapasi (returning home) to bring back the Dalits and adivasis who it is alleged have been converted through force (to Islam) and allurement or fraud (to Christianity). This Ghar Wapasi campaign has been undertaken through many newly devised rituals like bath in hot spring or rituals around fire. This has been rampant inAdivasi areasand in slums-villages.

Adivasis are animists, while RSS claims they are Hindus. To Hinduise them Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram now runs a growing network of schools and hostels in large numbers in North East. Such assertions and accompanying activities have more to with politics rather than social welfare as such. The attempt of RSS combine is to link religion with nationalism.

(This story was also published on People's Voice).

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