On February 22: Channeling Sophie Scholl
By Romi Mahajan
22 February, 2016
Countercurrents.org
The future of India—the youthful, exuberant, and indefatigable students of Hyderabad, JNU, FTII and countless other varsities and schools—remind us of Sophie Scholl and The White Rose. It is up to us to ensure that they- and others like them- don’t suffer the same fate.
A recent visit to the University of Munich reminded me of the power and hope inherent and pulsating in students. At the height of Nazi power—and in the sanctum of the Nazi party, The White Rose movement sprung up and continued for several months under unimaginable circumstances. Disgusted by Nazi excesses and war crimes, a group of students protested, distributing leaflets and speaking out against Hitler and Nazism. They encouraged passive resistance to the Nazis. For this, Scholl, her brother Hans, and their friend Christophe Probst were beheaded by guillotine after a kangaroo court presided over by none other than Roland Freiser, an ardent Nazi. This was exactly 73 years ago, on February 22, 1943.
It’s impossible for most of us to even contemplate what it might have been like to be a humane, decent, and courageous progressive under Nazism. More amazing still to speak out, to protest so openly and happily in the public sphere- in 1942/43 Munich.
And yet we see students being beaten up, imprisoned, academics being blacklisted, even killed. In 2016 India.
The Rohith Vemulas and Kanhaiya Kumars are our White Rose movement. One we lost, the other we must save.
Let us all channel the courage of Sophie Scholl and in her honor, act now before it is too late.
Romi Mahajan is the founder of KKM Group a marketing firm, an author, an investor, and an activist. His career is a storied one, including spending 9 years at Microsoft and being the first CMO of Ascentium, an award-winning digital agency. Romi has also authored two books on marketing- the latest one can be found here . A prolific writer and speaker, Mahajan lives in Bellevue, WA, with his wife and two kids. Mahajan graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, at the age of 19. He can be reached at [email protected]