One Word From Modi Would Have Stopped ABVP Goons From Attacking Kashmiri Students: Ramachandra Guha
“Expectedly, it has not come.”
In a op-ed in the Indian Express on Thursday, eminent historian Ramachandra Guha has castigated both mainstream political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, for not standing up with the Kashmiri students being attacked across the country. Expressing anguish over the persecution Kashmiri students are being subjected to, Guha reasserts that the support of these youngsters plays a significant role in India’s fight against cross-border terrorism.
He writes, “Why attack young citizens of the Republic for a crime committed by someone else, and orchestrated from across the border? And particularly the Kashmiris, who have come to seek a decent education outside their own state, hoping thereby to equip themselves for a job in the modern economy?” He further questioned if attacking these students will serve any purpose in India’s fight against terror. “How will attacking these students help in the war against terror and in the shaming of Pakistan?”
Also Read: Whose Purpose is Being Served by Ostracising Kashmiris: Omar Abdullah
In an acerbic tone, Guha adds, “The ABVP is unwilling or unable to understand that knowledge-seeking Kashmiri students can be an indispensable aid in India’s battle against jihad. But surely the president of the BJP can.” He adds that, “it may be hard for them to comprehend that the Kashmiris who come outside their home state to study are, in effect, India’s best hope for stemming the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism in the Valley.”
Taking into account the tactics BJP resorts for electoral gains, Guha also questions the BJP president’s recent speech at Guwahati, where Amit Shah had said that the BJP “will not allow Assam to become another Kashmir”. Guha criticises Shah for “stigmatising citizens of Kashmir on the basis of their religion, in order to win more seats in Assam.” Guha notes that Shah “has an election to fight and surveys suggest that BJP will be hard put to achieve anything close to a majority in the Lok Sabha, so he chooses to go down the path of communal bigotry.”
Guha also comes down heavily on the Prime Minister’s silence on the subject and notes that as is his wont, the latter keeps mum on disturbing or controversial matters. “One word by him would have stopped the goons of the ABVP in their tracks. Expectedly, it has not come.”
He also criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his non-committal stand on this issue saying that Gandhi has not said anything about “demonisation of ordinary Kashmiris in North India,” as he too has an election to fight. “So cowardice has prevailed over courage, political expediency over plain human decency,” laments Guha and adds that, “while the BJP seeks to demonise Kashmiris to win seats elsewhere in India, the Congress will act as if Kashmiris do not exist at all.”
Meghalaya governor’s tweet about boycotting Kashmiris was also slammed by Guha who wrote that “not one of these will make our jawans any safer,” adding, “On the other hand, they will please and comfort our enemies, and embolden them further.”