JNU Row- The Questions That Arise.

Jawaharlal Nehru University is one of the most prestigious government funded colleges in Delhi with a rich history and an elite group of alumni ranging from politicians to social activists and writers. The college is known for its active participation in politics with a Students Union, whose president is

Kanhaiya Kumar. On February 10^th, a group of students, led by Kanhaiya Kumar organized a protest which was to question the judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhatt. Afzal Guru was convicted on the account of his attack on the parliament but the students felt the Supreme Court did not take the right decision in his case and did not give him a fair trail. The protest was a cultural event to question the workings of the Supreme Court and also a way to show the grievances of some of the Kashmiri Students on campus. The protest took an ugly turn when some of the students started to shout Anti-India slogans. The ABVP and the RSS felt that Kanhaiya Kumar was propagating hateful messages about India and the police charged him on account of sedition. Kanhaiya Kumar claimed that he had not said anything against the nation but was simply stating what he felt must be changed in the country for its development. Even when his speech was reviewed, it had nothing “Anti-Social” or “Anti-Democratic”or "Anti-National". It has been recently reported by the Delhi Police that Kanhaiya Kumar was indeed with the protestors singing the hate slogans and hence the case intensifies with every passing day. Given that there are elections in two month for the students union, this event was organized to get the students support rather than an event to enrage the youth and go against the government or the nation. The entire issue was made political with the involvement of the RSS and the AVBP. Recent reports suggest Rahul Gandhi is in support of the JNU students. People still argue whether charging Kanhaiya Kumar with sedition is lawful or not, but before we can answer we should understand what justice is. Is justice always equal? And another important question that arises is,’ shouldn’t students at universities and other educational centers have the right to voice their opinions about what they feel without being punished for it because the ultimate aim of knowledge is to pass it on?’What is freedom of speech and is Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest a direct contradiction to this freedom? Why is an event at a college gaining so much political ground? What do people mean by 'Anti-India' and what is anti-nationalistic? If congress was in power would this issue be brought into such limelight? With so many questions and complications, a small cultural event has turned into a grave political issue.