By Team FI
Last week, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition by Delhi Police triggering large-scale protests from JNU students. JNU, known as a bastion of progressive students and teachers, is one of the most reputed Universities in Asia and its student union is headed by Communist Party of India affiliated All India Students Federation (AISF). Kumar’s arrest was based on a complaint by the ABVP, the student’s body BJP. However, a large number of students and teachers have come in support of Kumar accusing the ruling BJP of playing divisive politics in the campus.
Kanhaiya Kumar’s speech is available on YouTube and these are the main points of his speech;
1. These (RSS/ABVP are the chelas of those who had apologised to the British.
2. Their government in Haryana changed the name of the airport from Bhagat Singh to that of a Sanghi (RSS):
3. We do not want a certificate of patriotism from the RSS;
4. For us nationalism is to fight for the rights of the 80 per cent poor of India;
5. We have full faith in this country’s Constitution, if anyone raises a finger against India’s Constitution, be it of the Sanghis or anyone else, we will not tolerate that finger;
6. But the constitution that is being taught at Jhandewala or Nagpur, we have no faith in that constitution;
7. We have no faith in caste discrimination;
8. We want to uphold the rights we have been given under the Constitution of India;
9. The ABVP claims of standing for the students will be exposed if there is a debate on the basic issues of constitutional rights;
10. (Subramanian) Swamy says jihadis live in JNU, they believe in violence; we challenge the RSS and its supporters to come and debate on this.
11. They have problems when the poor ask for their rights, when the minorities, the women ask for empowerment;
12. They have difficulty in accepting when people talk of democracy and right, when along with Lal Salaam we add the Neela Salaam, when with Marx we take the name of Ambedkar;
13. Check my phone friends, my mother and sister are being abused. They talk of bharat maata but if my mother is not included in their concept I do not accept it. If the poor mazdoor woman, who works to get the Rs 3000 a month that finances my family, is being abused by them how can I or anyone accept this;
14. if you have the courage say inquilab Zindabad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ambedkar zindabad;
15. We stand with India, with the dream that Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar wrote; we stand for the dream that all get their rights to live, to food, to expression; Rohith sacrificed his life for this dream;
16. We challenge the Central government, we will not allow you to do what you did to Rohith to JNU;
17. We have to ensure justice for all , and that will come from Parliament, from the Constitution, from democracy;
18. JNUSU is against violence, against terrorism, against anti -national activity, the unidentified persons who have shouted Pakistan zindabad slogans, we condemn this completely,
19. Look at the slogans that the ABVP raises: communist kutte, afzal guru ke pillai, jihad ke bache. if the Constitution has given me the right to live, then can you call my father a dog, is that not against our rights;
20. Don’t hate these people, recognise their reality, i feel sorry for them, they raise slogans as they think that this will get them jobs. Their desh bhakti stops at a Pakistan cricket match.