We visited JNU campus and had a walk through the epicentre of hooligans attack, the Sabarmati Hostel. Shocked to see shattered glasses, broken doors, fire extinguishing powder thrown inside the room by breaking the ventilator glass above the door to create suffocation to those locked inside and broken flower pots to bang the door and break open the windows.
We spoke to many victims who are undergoing an ordeal. We expressed our solidarity with them. We spoke to many students who are under deep shock and trauma. The air around the hostel is of gloom and acrimony and the entrance of hostel looks devastated.
Some rooms in the ground floor and some in the first floor were selectively ransacked and inmates were brutally attacked. The attackers had room numbers and names of the persons. The security guards let only the attackers in and did not allow the fleeing students out. When they begged to open the gate, they were ruthlessly beaten up by the police on the gate who were mute spectators to the mayhem going on inside. Few rooms which had displayed their allegiance to the ideology of hate were absolutely untouched. This is clear evidence that the whole carnage was carried on in connivance with the administration and few hostel inmates corroborated with the attackers by identifying the rooms and persons to be diluted. No religion teaches to be cruel to their neighbours. What a horrific time has come to our beloved country where humanity is in abyss and touching the rock bottom.
JNU has had a glorious past of openness, inclusiveness, dissent and rational debate which is anathema to the fascists’ ideology. On the issue of fee hike JNU students have been vehemently opposing the government move. Those who fail to convince rationally with sound arguments resort to physical force which is typical characteristic of Fascism and Authoritarianism.
The ruling dispensation in its first tenure got rid of opposition politically and communalised viciously all the democratic institutions in the country. In the second tenure they are hell bent to crushing the public voices and students movements in particular. In a hurry to implement their agenda now they have landed in foot-in-mouth situation. Is this the beginning of their end?
[The writer is Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind]