Jamia’s Invitation To Modi: Beyond An Apology

By Syed Kashif

04 December, 2015
Countercurrents.org

Inviting Mr. Narendra Modi, who disgraced Jamia Millia Islamia and its students, to its convocation or in any other programme is disgusting. It is well known that Mr. Modi defamed Jamia and caused a great damage to it, including its students, while leveling the accusation that the university was protecting terrorists and that it was a breeding ground for terrorism. It seems ridiculous to me when it is argued that the university is inviting Prime Minister of India and not Mr. Modi. This is indeed a silly argument to laugh at. Yes, he is Prime Minister of India now but everybody knows that the same Mr. Modi is on that post. Also, the argument that opposition to the invitation of Prime Minister is an insult to constitution or constitutional authority is a sham. Where does the constitution prohibits its citizen to protest against the Prime Minister? Mahtab Alam, a former student of the university, has rightly pointed out that according to the constitution Mr. Modi’s speech of 2008 (in which he leveled baseless accusation against Jamia) was a disgrace to the constitution and not the current opposition to the invitation because at that time he was holding a constitutional post; Chief Minister of Gujrat. Here, it is also significant to note that even very recently more than one time Mr. Modi himself disgraced the constitutional position of Prime Minister while delivering speeches in Bihar Election rallies.

The point which is being left out while discussing the issue is that the damage, caused by his statement to the university, was so immense that the university is still struggling to detach that stigma which Mr. Modi attached to it. His statement had created such an environment in the country at that time that for quite a sometime guardians and students (both Hindus and Muslims) had to think twice at the time of admission in the university due to this very stigma. I remember in 2010 when I was taking admission in M.A, my father was a bit hesitant. Also, after I got enrolled and spent few months many of my Hindu friends shared that they were also a bit hesitant and had mixed feeling of doubt and fear at the time of admission. They expressed that Jamia was totally different from what they had heard about and thought of. So, what is pertinent to mention that it is good to demand an apology from Mr. Modi for what he said in 2008 about the University, but at the same time it worth noting that no apology will compensate the damage which he caused. Mr. Irfan, a research scholar at the university, says that his apology will not compensate the damage which has already been done to the university.

One more thing which is being left out in the debate is that what is the point in inviting Mr. Modi to the convocation ceremony? I believe in programme such as convocation, wherein degrees are given away to students and research scholars, a university/institute should invite a man/woman from amongst the great academicians of the country. I think this is not a good trend to invite politicians or leaders, who have no academic background, in such programmes. A research scholar of the university has rightly pointed out that by inviting Mr. Modi, the university administration has chosen to prostrate in front of the power. Likewise, a research scholar namely Vani Xaxa argues, “How somebody who does not understand academics can be invited to such a prestigious event in the history of an institution. I being political/biased, would not like to receive the degree from the man who is murderer of humanity.” In the same plain Parvez Alam, an alumnus, is of the view that Jamia Millia Islamia stands for critical thinking and this invitation poses a threat to that space.
In short, an apology would not undo the damage that Mr. Modi’s objectionable speech caused to one of the prestigious universities of India. But students have every right to express their dissent against the increasing trend of prostration in front of power by educational institutions, which is not a good omen for academic future at all.

Syed Kashif is a blogger http://kashifrazasabri.blogspot.in/