Saffronisation of education looks is slowly seeping into Jammu if one has to believe the latest developments in Jammu University where Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is becoming a via media for the parent Bharatiya Janata Party to have some political footing. Politics can be played on trivial issues and for this saffron party would not mind going to any extent. The sudden surge in political awakening in the Jammu University, which is otherwise a dormant institution for student-politics, has taken everyone by surprise. With no recognised student organisation, the political atmosphere of the university is a very laid back one and whatever student organisations are there they hardly have any say except for staging unwanted protests mastered by their parent parties. Politics is an alien subject with the university students here and under such an environment the student arm of the BJP raking up an issue out of no issue is nothing but just political highhandedness. Not only this party bigwigs too have jumped into the race with party’s trouble shooter Ram Madhav calling Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the issue. Is it that important a national issue? It reminds one of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Delhi episode, where after getting drubbing in the student union elections from the Left student party, the ABVP and BJP raked up the Kanhaiya Kumar issue. On 9th February, an event was organised in JNU where allegedly some ‘anti-national’ slogans were raised, some of which deserved undiluted and unconditional reprimands and condemnation. No one was sure which students actually participated in the protest and which students raised pro-Afzal Guru and anti-India slogans. Were Kumar and other accused active participants in the event or were oblivious onlookers? Who took the lead? All this remains mired in mystery to the same extent as to the reason behind the growth of the agitation. And without casting any aspersions on the witnesses, it is pertinent to highlight the fact that most of the witnesses enlisted by the investigating agencies are either JNU security personnel or members of the ABVP. It appears now in Jammu University too an atmosphere is being created to make ABVP’s presence larger than the real one. Let BJP conduct such an experiment in Kashmir University the end result everyone knows including BJP leaders. Then why such partisan approach with Jammu University?
