On 17th August, 2004, Democratic Students’ Union planted posters
across JNU Campus that said that SAR Geelani was coming to Sutlej Hostel as a
speaker to talk on the topic of 'Indian State Repression,POTA and Kashmir'. DSU is a
party with a few cadres but they represent the extreme left whose ideology
openly talked about freedom from Indian state by using guns. While DSU could
not have built the momentum for the meeting, all left parties cheered DSU in
the name of freedom of expression. It is DSU which was celebrating the death Anniversary of Afzal Guru this week.
In the evening, ABVP decided to protest against it but the mode of protest was not getting
finalized. Older students were in favor of showing black flags and the young
lot was adamant that Geelani should not be allowed to enter the campus. We had
decided to assemble at Ganga Dhaba which was located close to the main gate. It
was my second year in JNU Campus and I had started giving French tuition to
school children to fund myself. The 615 bus that ran between CP and JNU dropped
me at Ganga Dhaba and we had no time to have dinner and return. With no plan of
action at hand, the young cadres had decided to let the things be and handle
whatever befell as they deemed fit. Basically, adrenaline was the only factor
taken into consideration. In fact, even we had no idea what we were going to
do.
Often, in such situations, when people realize that scuffles
between groups can't be ruled out, many disappear from the scene. We were
hardly 30-40 students shouting slogans and straining our vocal chords.
Students’ meetings at JNU usually took place post dinner when the dining halls
were cleared and no mike etc was used. A dining hall at JNU could easily
accommodate 400 people. While we were proceeding towards Sutlej Hostel, we saw
around 500 activists from SFI, AISF, AISA, DSU and NSUI barricading the Hostel
gate so that Geelani could arrive for the meeting.
Now, who is SAR Geelani! Geenlani is
a Kashmiri professor of Arabic Language in Zakir Hussain College, Delhi
University. He’s the one who trained the suicide bombers who had attacked the
Indian Parliament on 13th December 2001 by preparing them for death by giving them Quranic
lectures. His telephone calls were traced while he was talking with Afzal Guru,
Saukat Guru and others. In 2004, he was still an accused. Later on he was
acquitted as the proof against him was not sufficient. It is always
difficult to find proof against a terrorist who brainwashes suicide bombers who
are already dead. Many security personnel died in that attack and it led the
Vajpayee Govt. mobilize the biggest army attack team in the
deserts of Rajasthan for almost eight months.
Coming again to the night
of 17th August, we were shouting slogans against Geelani, and, although
our group was small, we were motivated enough that whatever it might take,
Geelani shall be chased away. The adrenaline levels were so high that none of
us were thinking about our future, like, in case we would be expelled from JNU,
or, even if we ended up getting hurt badly, even getting killed in the process
as we foresaw a mob of leftists charging towards us.
Around 9:30 PM, SAR Geelani came
in a black Scorpio car belonging to Nandita Haksar, another Human Rights’
Activist living in a posh locality of South Delhi. As the car carrying Geelani
approached, every one of us charged at it, without thinking again. A few of us
jumped on to the bonnet of the car, while some surrounded it and Geelani could
only see us banging our fists on the car windows and body. Communists were pushing
us away and many of us had our shirts ripped apart by the end of it all.
Geelani tried to hide himself in the car and the driver also panicked and hit
the reverse. Within a few seconds, the car was speeding towards JNU Main Gate
and we were running behind it to chase it out of the campus. Enough chaos and
confusion was created and we being new to the campus, were not seasoned leaders
of ABVP. Even leftists were unable to take stock of the situation.
After chasing SAR Geelani away from
the JNU campus, we retreated to Ganga Dhaba and continued shouting the slogans.
As more joined the protest, a ‘Victory Juloos’ was planned. Meanwhile, a
security guard of Sutlej Hostel, who was sympathetic to our cause called one of
us to inform that Geelani had returned in a burqa and was giving a speech. As
it was announced, all of us started running towards Sutlej Hostel which was
around 200 meters from Ganga Dhaba. Leftists were still standing at the gate
and this time many groups of guards were put to stop us from entering the
hostel mess. As the entrance gate was blocked, we started moving towards the
hostel boundary wall. Since there were those protective pieces of broken glass
lining the top of the wall, we looked for and found an empty sack and put on
top of it. Commies did not expect that we could take such a step. When almost
ten of us jumped into the hostel garden area, there began the chaos, again.
Geelani panicked as the sounds of loud shouting of slogans approached him, and
he was taken out from the hostel via the backyard.
Once Geelani was gone, leftists were so enraged that they started pushing us. A
few of us lost our eye glasses, shirts were torn, but this episode led to one
thing that I can never forget. Many of my batch mates who were earlier
supporting NSUI under the influence of their seniors, all of them
participated in our victory march and loud chants of ‘Vande Mataram’ were
resonating in JNU Campus.
Most students returned to their hostels
by 1:00 AM. Meanwhile, another source informed us that left had filed an FIR
against twenty people. Now this could create issues for all of us. We took
autos and reached Safdarjung Hospital. We had to file a counter FIR for which
we needed a medical certificate. We stayed in the Hospital till the next
morning and returned to Vasant Vihar Police Station with a counter FIR against
twenty leftist student leaders. Senior police officers did not bother much but
the constables brought tea for us and they could not hide their happiness as
many of their colleagues had lost their lives in the Parliament attack.
The next day media reported this issue in different way. The Hindu took a pro-
left stance, The Indian Express declared that Geelani had not come which was a
lie nailed by the picture used by The Hindu. The Pioneer reported the facts.
It was the Congress Government and
ultimately nothing happened against the leftist parties. We had to report to a
fact finding committee for almost two years and we remained under constant
threat of expulsion. Finally we were given letters threatening us of action if this was repeated again and we could
finish our degrees. FIRs had been dropped against all of us as the Police gave
a clear message to leftists that if they (The leftists) perused their FIR, they
(The Police) shall be under the obligation to pursue our FIR as well.
Now when I see this incident after 12
long years, SAR Geelani has been arrested, no nationalist student has been
expelled and leftists are under arrest too. It is a moment of pride.
The wheel of time has turned.
Vande Mataram! Kashmir Ho Ya Guwahati,
Apna Desh, Apni Maati!
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