Tank in JNU campus: Vice chancellor should rightfully claim credit, patent the concept and process of Wargasm

By Anand Mazgaonkar*
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor’s (VC's) suggestion of installing a tank at a prominent place on campus is not only a brilliant, but also an honest idea. Just as we never found out the source of the demonetisation idea -- whether it was the Reserve Bank of India's (RBIs) own idea or whether the Government gave it to the RBI to give it back to the Government to implement -- we will never figure out where this one came from.
It may have come from the JNU VC’s own fertile brain, or from Nagpur, or Delhi or it may have done the merry-go-round like demonetisation, i.e., from Nagpur to Delhi to VC and back to Delhi for implementation.
Unquestionably, following due procedure, creating lot of smoke does indeed cover up the source, intent and purpose. We must indeed be a stupid people. The only problem is that some of their motormouths betray their true designs.
Mr Rajiv Malhotra, is reported to have said he was “glad we’re capturing JNU” and has apparently characterised it as victory “in the internal war”. Major Gen Bakshi felt inspired to betray their future plans, i.e., capturing Jadavpur and Hyderabad Central University (click HERE to read).
Nobody has, as yet, leaked their exact plan and blueprint; therefore the Parivar’s division of labour isn’t exactly clear. Will it be that the current army will fight the external battles while retired armymen will turn on on people within, or the new army will be a combination of VCs and retired armymen, or is it that retired armymen will set out to capture Universities? Or, the fact may be that academicians (of the Parivar kind) will now infiltrate the army.
Whatever be the intent and objective, the tank can indeed serve many purposes for many different people. It will be inspiration for the ABVP-types, deterrence for the Kanhaiya-types (remember Tiananmen?), joy for the sabre-rattlers. Warmongers’ toys becoming academicians’ fantasies is the best outcome of this project. It should also do the VC’s personal professional career a great deal of good. Those are the kind of people who ought to be put in charge of the Education Ministry. And given this Government’s style, we can have the HRD Minister doubling as Defence Minister. Or more correctly HRD Minister-cum-Defence Minister-cum-Internal War Minister.
We could well have the spectacle of VC-cum-HRD Minister formulating the Education Policy of Pakistan on the one hand, while on the other fighting an internal war in JNU, Jadavpur and Hyderabad Central University. That will be doing full justice to each of his portfolios. That, really is the way forward for 21st Century India. And it will be a symbol of India’s great past and greater future – truly, the Achche Din we were promised.
Installing something like a Tank in a University is perfectly justified for another reason. If you’ve done too much bluff, bluster, bombast and sabre rattling about teaching Pakistan a lesson, rooting out terrorism, eradicating poverty, giving farmers’ cost + 50 % for their produce, ending farmers’ suicides, while in opposition and the reality of having to act more ‘responsibly’ dawns on you when in Government, you do have to instal symbols and toy models to pass off as governance and performance.
Therefore, the next thing that should be coming might be a huge plastic Rs. 15 Lakh cheque (the kind of cheques presented to the Man of the Match at the end of a cricket match) installed at India Gate to represent the amount that should have come into each citizens’ account and factory worker’s boots and cap at Jantar Mantar to stand in for the 1 crore jobs that were going to be created every year.
As a people we’re graduating from installing scarecrows on farms to setting up toy models to pass off as the real thing. Whatever the tank in JNU may or may not do, this Government and its Parivar are giving the people Wargasm. The JNU VC should rightfully claim credit, patent the concept and process of Wargasm.

---

*With Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara

Comments

Modi win may force Pak to put Kashmir on backburner, resume trade ties with India

By Salman Rafi Sheikh* When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi.

Stagnating wages since 2014-15: Economists explain Modi legacy for informal workers

By Our Representative Real wages have barely risen in India since 2014-15, despite rapid GDP growth. The country’s social security system has also stagnated in this period. The lives of informal workers remain extremely precarious, especially in states like Jharkhand where casual employment is the main source of livelihood for millions. These are some of the findings presented by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera at a press conference convened by the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime. TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya. Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor* Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Tyre cartel's monopoly: Farmers' groups seek legal fight for better price for raw rubber

By Our Representative The All India Kisan Sabha and the Kerala Karshaka Sangham that represents the largest rubber producing state of Kerala along with rubber farmers have sought intervention against the monopoly tyre companies that have formed a cartel against the interests of consumers and farmers. Vijoo Krishnan, AIKS General Secretary, Valsan Panoli, Kerala Karshaka Sangham General Secretary, and four farmers representing different rubber growing regions of Kerala have filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court.

Why it's only Modi ki guarantee, not BJP's, and how Varanasi has seen it up-close

"Development" along Ganga By Rosamma Thomas* I was in Varanasi in this April, days before polling began for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are huge billboards advertising the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The only image on all these large hoardings is of the PM, against a saffron background. It is as if the very person of Modi is what his party wishes to showcase.

Joblessness, saffronisation, corporatisation of education: BJP 'squarely responsible'

Counterview Desk In an open appeal to youth and students across India, several student and youth organizations from across India have said that the ruling party is squarely accountable for the issues concerning the students and the youth, including expensive education and extensive joblessness.

Following the 3000-year old Pharaoh legacy? Poll-eve Surya tilak on Ram Lalla statue

By Sukla Sen Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)... Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).

India's "welcome" proposal to impose sin tax on aerated drinks is part of to fight growing sugar consumption

By Amit Srivastava* A proposal to tax sugar sweetened beverages like tobacco in India has been welcomed by public health advocates. The proposal to increase sin taxes on aerated drinks is part of the recommendations made by India’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the parliament of India.

Counterview

Search This Blog