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| On 8 March 2016, speaking at an ] function, Kumar referred to the ] by security personnal, which has been criticised as being "anti-national" by critics. "No matter how much you try to stop us, we will speak up against human rights violations. We will raise our voice against AFSPA. While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will still talk about the fact that in Kashmir women are raped by security personnel," Kumar is reported to have said. The ] (the BJP's youth wing) filed a complaint in a Delhi police station against Kumar and JNU professor Nivedita Menon, alleging that they made "anti-national" statements.<ref>, Business Standard, 9 March 2016.</ref> | On 8 March 2016, speaking at an ] function, Kumar referred to the ] by security personnal, which has been criticised as being "anti-national" by critics. "No matter how much you try to stop us, we will speak up against human rights violations. We will raise our voice against AFSPA. While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will still talk about the fact that in Kashmir women are raped by security personnel," Kumar is reported to have said. The ] (the BJP's youth wing) filed a complaint in a Delhi police station against Kumar and JNU professor Nivedita Menon, alleging that they made "anti-national" statements.<ref>, Business Standard, 9 March 2016.</ref> | ||
| Mayank Tiwari, a BJP worker in Bihar, filed sedition and defamation case against him in a civil court in Patna.<ref>, Times of India, 11 March 2016.</ref><ref>, Business Standard, 11 March 2016.</ref> | Mayank Tiwari, a BJP worker in Bihar, filed sedition and defamation case against him in a civil court in Patna.<ref>, Times of India, 11 March 2016.</ref><ref>, Business Standard, 11 March 2016.</ref> | ||
| ===Threatening a female student=== | |||
| On 10 March 2016, Kamlesh Narwana, Ex JNU student unveiled an unsigned University order dated October 16, 2015. According to the document, Kanhaiya Kumar was fined Rs. 3000 for misbehaving and threatening a woman student. News agency Press Trust of India claimed that the authenticity of the letter is confirmed by the (JNU) university.<ref>, NDTV.com, 10 March 2016.</ref><ref>, Deccan Chronicle, 10 March 2016.</ref> Narwana, who is currently an Assistant Professor at the ], wrote an open letter to Kumar and posted it on Facebook. She alleged that Kumar was urinating in the open and, when she objected, he became abusive and threatened her. The student wing of CPI, All India Students' Federation, the organisation of which Kumar is a member, said such a probe had been instituted but dismissed the allegations as "completely fake." They said that Kumar "did not appear before any enquiry", nor "pay the Rs.3,000 fine mentioned." They alleged that the case was filed to defame Kanhaiya and to tarnish his image <ref>, The Times of India, 10 March 2016.</ref> | |||
| == <small>Attack on Kanhaiya Kumar by outsider at JNU campus</small> == | == <small>Attack on Kanhaiya Kumar by outsider at JNU campus</small> == | ||
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| Kanhaiya Kumar | |
|---|---|
| कन्हैया कुमार | |
 | |
| Born | January, 1987 Begusarai, Bihar, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | pursuing Ph.D. in African Studies at JNU |
| Occupation | Student Leader |
| Organization | All India Students Federation |
Kanhaiya Kumar is the current President of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union. He is also a leader of the All India Student Federation (AISF), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI). In February 2016, he was arrested and charged with sedition by the Delhi police, alleging that he raised anti-India slogans in a student rally called to protest the 2013 hanging of Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist convicted for the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. Kumar was released on interim bail at 2 March 2016, for lack of conclusive evidence. Kumar denied the charges and, upon his release, gave a speech in favour of freedom, which raised him to the ranks of a national icon. In parallel, a disciplinary committee constituted by JNU Vice-Chancellor have also investigated the controversial event and submitted the report. Final decision is awaited from the JNU administration.
Early life and political career
Kanhaiya Kumar was born in January 1987, and brought up in the village of Bihar in Begusarai district, in Bihar, India. This village is part of the Teghra legislative assembly constituency, known to be a stronghold of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Kumar’s father, Jaishankar Singh, owns a little over an acre of farmland and suffered a paralytic attack two years ago. His mother, Meena Devi, is an Anganwadi worker. He has an elder brother, Manikant, who works as a supervisor with a company in Assam. His younger brother, Prince, is preparing for the civil services exam. His family members have traditionally been supporters of the CPI.
Kanhaiya Kumar studied till Class VI at Madhya Vidyalaya, Masnadpur, in Bihat before joining R. K. C. High School in Barauni, an industrial town in Bihar. During his school days, Kumar took part in several plays and activities organized by IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), a left-leaning cultural group going back to the days of India’s freedom struggle. He cleared his Class X board exams in 2002 with a first division. After school, Kanhaiya joined the Ram Ratan Singh College at Mokama, around 25 km west of Bihat, taking up science in Class XI-XII. Kanhaiya graduated in geography from the College of Commerce, Patna in 2007, with a first class. It was here that he began his involvement in student politics. He joined the AISF and a year later was selected as a delegate at its conference in Patna. After completing his post graduation with MA in sociology from the Nalanda Open University, Patna, again securing a first class, Kanhaiya Kumar moved to Delhi and joined JNU where he is currently pursuing a PhD in African studies at the School of International Studies. In 2015 September, Kanhaiya Kumar became the first AISF member to become president of the JNU students’ union, defeating the AISA (All India Students Association), ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), SFI (Students' Federation of India) and NSUI (National Students' Union of India) candidates. Kumar's friends and spectators describe him as a great orator. A speech he made the night before his election is credited as the reason for his victory.
2016 sedition controversy
Main article: 2016 JNU sedition controversyOn 12 February 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested by the Delhi police. A case was registered against him on Feb 13, under Indian Penal Code Sections 124-A (sedition) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy). He was charged over an event organised by some students at the Jawaharlal Nehru university campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, following complaints by Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Maheish Girri and the ABVP. Kanhaiya Kumar denied the charges and said that he was neither shouting any slogan nor saying anything against integrity of the country. He said in an interview that "I dissociate myself from the slogans which were shouted in the event. I have full faith in the Constitution of the country and I always say that Kashmir is an integral part of India”. During his interrogation Kanhaiya insisted that he did not say anything that was seditious.
Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest soon snowballed into a major political controversy and has drawn sharp reactions from opposition parties, teachers, students and academics. Students at Jawaharlal Nehru University went on strike over Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest, effectively paralysing the University.
Kanhaiya Kumar's parents stated that their son was being victimized for his opposition to Hindutva politics. When Kumar was brought to the Patiala House court on February 15, 2016, JNU students and professors, as well as journalists, were attacked by a group of lawyers. BJP MLA O.P. Sharma was also involved in the assault, although he later denied the charge. On 17 February, Kumar was once again assaulted by some lawyers inside the Patiala House court. On February 22, 2016, India Today broadcast a video in which three lawyers of the Patiala House court claimed that they had beaten Kanhaiya Kumar while the latter was in police custody. A six member Supreme Court-appointed panel later confirmed that the policemen present at the Court were responsible for the security lapses, and further stating that police allowed 2 persons to enter the court room, and continued to let the assault take place, in direct violation of the SC direction on Kanhaiya's safety.
On 2 March 2016, Kumar was granted interim bail for 6 months by the Delhi High Court, conditional on a 10,000 rupee bail bond and an undertaking that he would not "participate in any anti-national activity." Justice Pratibha Rani noted that there were no recordings of Kumar participating in anti-national slogans. Going beyond the immediate issue, the judge also held that the alleged slogans threaten national integrity and cannot be considered as free speech. She characterized them as a form of "infection," which can either be treated or, in some cases, "amputation is the only treatment." A separate magisterial investigation appointed by the Delhi Government did not find any evidence of Kanhaiya Kumar participating in anti-national slogans. Out of the 7 videos of the event sent to forensic lab, three were found to be doctored including a clipping of a news channel.
On 3 March 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar gave a speech to a packed auditorium in the JNU campus, during which he said he was seeking, not freedom from India, but freedom within India. He appealed to his fellow students to free the nation from the clutches of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which he said was trying to divide the nation. Referring to the ABVP(right wing student organization), whose members were instrumental in bringing about his arrest, he called them his "opposition", not his enemy. He urged his supporters to keep raising the slogans of azadi (freedom). The speech won accolades from the leaders of all non-BJP parties as well as independent commentators. Shashi Tharoor commented that it turned Kumar into a "nationwide political star," and congratulated BJP for creating his phenomenon.
Following his release from jail, Kumar has faced bounties and death threats. Kuldeep Varshnay, a leader of the youth wing of BJP was expelled from the organisation for offering Rs 5 lakh as a reward to anyone who cut off Kumar’s tongue. Posters were put up in New Delhi offering Rs 11 lakh as a reward to anyone who shoots Kumar. Adarsh Sharma who allegedly put up these posters has been arrested on 7 March 2016. A high-level inquiry committee of Jawaharlal Nehru University found out that provocative slogans at the controversial February 9 event inside the campus were raised by a group of outsiders, wearing masks.
Other controversies
Statements against human rights violations by Indian Army
On 8 March 2016, speaking at an International Women's Day function, Kumar referred to the raping of Kashmir women by security personnal, which has been criticised as being "anti-national" by critics. "No matter how much you try to stop us, we will speak up against human rights violations. We will raise our voice against AFSPA. While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will still talk about the fact that in Kashmir women are raped by security personnel," Kumar is reported to have said. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (the BJP's youth wing) filed a complaint in a Delhi police station against Kumar and JNU professor Nivedita Menon, alleging that they made "anti-national" statements. Mayank Tiwari, a BJP worker in Bihar, filed sedition and defamation case against him in a civil court in Patna.
Attack on Kanhaiya Kumar by outsider at JNU campus
On March 10, 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar was manhandled and abused by a man, who accused him of being a “deshdrohi” (traitor), at the university’s administrative block.The man who accosted Kumar was identified as Vikas Chaudhary of Gaziabad. He told media persons that he wanted to “teach Kanhaiya a lesson”. Addressing students later in the day, Kumar said such incidents couldn’t scare him. “You can kill me, you can silence me but you cannot scare me. But before you kill me, think about Rohith Vemula. When you killed one Rohith, several Rohiths came forward. If you kill someone else now, many others will stand up. This is all happening as part of a plan."
On March 15, 2016, Four persons tried to attack Kanhaiya Kumar in separate instances, during a march of JNU studnts and staff, in New Delhi led by him, demanding release of the JNU students who were arrested in charges of sedition. While three persons hurled abuses at Kumar during his speech near Parliament Street police station and were whisked away by the police who perceived threat in connection with the matter, one managed to climb the truck over which Kumar was standing while addressing the gathering. The fourth man was whisked away by police by the time he could reach Kumar. The four men were released from police custody, later in the evening.
See also
References
- "Why an Indian student has been arrested for sedition". BBC News. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ JNU row: Kanhaiya Kumar gets bail and a lesson on thoughts that ‘infect… (like) gangrene’, Indian Express, 3 March 2016.
- ^ JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar gets clean chit in AAP government appointed probe, Economic Times, 3 March 2016.
- Kamal Mitra Chenoy, How Kanhaiya Kumar went from 'anti-national' to freedom icon, Daily O, 5 March 2016.
- JNU revokes eight students' suspension Business Standard 11 March 2016
- Kanhaiya Had Objected To Cancellation Of Permission For Afzal Guru Event: JNU Registrar, NDTV, 7 March 2016.
- Kanhaiya Had Objected to Cancellation of Permission for Afzal Guru Event: JNU Registrar, Indian Express, 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Cricket brat and school debater". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- Anuja. "JNU row: Who is Kanhaiya Kumar?". livemint.com.
- "JNU sedition case: Meet the family of the student who is a 'danger to Mother India'". The Indian Express. 2016-02-14. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- "JNU row: How Kanhaiya Kumar became president of JNU Students' Union". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- Roshan Kumar (2016-02-19). "His college remembers a fiery speaker". Telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- "JNU row: How Kanhaiya Kumar became President of JNU's students union". dna. 15 February 2016.
- "10 Lesser Known Facts about Kanhaiya Kumar – The JNUSU President!". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- The Arrest of a Student Leader at a Top University Reignites India’s Intolerance Debate, TIME, 15 February 2016.
- "Exclusive: JNUSU chief Kanhaiya Kumar's interrogation report accessed".
- Jason Burke. "Protests to continue at Indian university after student leader's arrest". the Guardian.
- "JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar 'victim of Hindutva politics' say parents". Hindustan Times.
- "Sedition case against JNUSU president: Lawyers, BJP MLA take law in their fists". The Indian Express. 16 February 2016.
- "Lawyers attack arrested JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in Patiala House court complex". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- Mathur, Avarnita (22 February 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Kanhaiya wet his pants while we beat him up in police custody, say lawyers behind Patiala House assault". India today. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- "JNU sedition case: Video is out; Kanhaiya Kumar assaulted, breaks down, police duck for cover". The Indian Express. 28 February 2016.
- Mathur, Aneesha (2 March 2016). "JNU row: Kanhaiya Kumar gets 6-month interim bail by Delhi HC". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- Delhi HC gives Kanhaiya Kumar bail quoting Bollywood song and calling slogans an 'infection', Scroll.in, 2 March 2016.
- JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar gives blistering speech after release, The Hindu, 3 March 2016.
- Full Speech: Kanhaiya Kumar, Out On Bail, Speaks Of 'Azadi' On JNU Campus, NDTV, 3 March 2016.
- 'Azaadi, azaadi': Kanhaiya Kumar gives fiery speech mocking Modi govt, Sangh Parivar at JNU campus, DNA India, 3 March 2016.
- Kanhaiya Kumar wins praise from non-BJP leaders for 'azadi' speech, Deccan Chronicle, 4 March 2016.
- Kanhaiya's fiery comeback speech is a massive hit, Rediff News, 4 March 2016.
- Congratulations, BJP, On Creating The Kanhaiya Kumar Phenomenon, NDTV Opinion, 5 March 2016.
- Bounties, death threats: BJP mounts full-scale attack on JNU’s Kanhaiya, The Hindustan Times, 6 March 2016.
- Shoot Kanhaiya Kumar, get a reward of Rs 11 lakh: Posters in Delhi, The Hindustan Times, 5 March 2016.
- Arrested for Posters Offering 11 Lakhs for Killing Kanhaiya Kumar, NDTV.com, 7 March 2016.
- "JNU row: Provocative slogans were shouted by outsiders, says university's probe panel | Zee News". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- Kanhaiya in a fresh spot over "anti-national" remarks, Business Standard, 9 March 2016.
- Sedition case against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in Patna court, Times of India, 11 March 2016.
- BJP 'worker' files complaint against Kanhaiya Kumar in UP, Business Standard, 11 March 2016.
- "Kanhaiya manhandled, abused in JNU by man who wanted to 'teach him a lesson'". The Indian Express. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- "Kanhaiya 'attacked' during march - Rediff.com India News". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
Further reading
- Southik Biswas, Kanhaiya Kumar: India's most loved and loathed student, BBC News, 11 March 2016.
External links
- Text of Kanhaiya Kumar's speech at JNU, Hindustan Times, 17 February 2016.