THE CROOKED TIMBER OF NEW INDIA ESSAYS ON A REPUBLIC IN CRISIS by Parakala Prabhakar

Author:Parakala Prabhakar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

*See ‘Bonsai Universities and Ripped Jeans’.

JNU SHOULD REMAIN AN ANOMALY

(The previous essay—‘Bonsai Universities and Ripped Jeans’—discusses the attempts to make our universities tidy and obedient—Bonsai versions of themselves, where independent thinking must be stamped out. Where students should only ‘study’ and not be ‘political’—unless, of course, their politics is aligned completely with the politics of the party in power. This essay extends that discussion with Delhi’s famed Jawaharlal Nehru University, which has been in the crosshairs of the Modi regime since early 2016, when some of its brightest students were arrested on charges of sedition. Since then, there has been an unrelenting campaign, comprising intimidation, persecution, co-option and capture of administrative and teaching positions by appointing people handpicked by the Sangh Parivar. It is a clear attempt to destroy JNU as we knew it; for JNU’s tradition of free thought and debate, and its insistence on equality—its challenge to the hierarchies of class, caste and religion—are anathema to the Hindu right.

This essay—a slightly modified version of an essay that appeared in the 30 November 2019 issue of The Week—is a tribute to the spirit of JNU.)

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