Congratulations, BJP, On Creating The Kanhaiya Kumar Phenomenon

Two hours after being released from prison, a smiling, clean-shaven JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar made an hour-long speech to a throng of thousands of students and became a nationwide political star.

With his compelling fluency and brilliant rhetoric, his impish smile and sardonic humour, his mastery of idiomatic Hindi and his manifest sincerity, Kanhaiya seems to represent the idealism and passion long felt to be absent in the political class. In explicit contrast to the practised and cynical politicians running the nation, he offers an authentic voice of the people.

The son of a farmer and a mother who makes 3000 rupees a month, with a soldier brother risking his life at the front, Kanhaiya spoke from the heart of what the country meant to him, and one could not but listen. Videos of his speech have gone viral across the length and breadth of the country and among the Indian diaspora. There is no question: everyone who heard him did so with rapt admiration, and most were moved.

Most Indians, too, felt themselves suffused with a genuine pride in Indian democracy for having produced a Kanhaiya Kumar.

Someone with none of the conventional advantages - born without a spoon, let alone a silver one! - had been able to rise, through merit, scholarships and free institutions, to one of the nation's premier universities, and to speak the way he did. It was difficult not to see his life story, his elective position, his confidence and dissent as the epitome of Indian democracy at its best.

The BJP government should be kicking itself, since its heavy-handed crackdown on the campus has created the Kanhaiya phenomenon. The foolish arrest, the slapping of preposterous sedition charges, the even more absurd (and easily discredited) attempt to disgrace Kanhaiya and his friends through the circulation of doctored videotapes of their demonstration - all have made a martyr out of Kanhaiya Kumar. They have also given him the platform, and the national media attention, to deliver the stinging critique of the government that has catapulted him to political stardom.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suddenly acquired a major problem. His carefully cultivated political persona is not designed to face off against somebody like Kanhaiya. The boy totally disarms Mr Modi's claim to "ordinariness". (The PM's narrative of having sold tea faces that of a student who could barely afford a cup of tea.) He has even co-opted the police, the government's dreaded enforcers, by pointing out that constables have the same social background as him and share his views on issues, rather than those of the government.

And then there's Kanhaiya himself, the darling son of every Indian mother (especially after his shave, which has restored youthful innocence to his face). His oratory, the way he switches registers and vocabularies so nimbly, his lack of rancour or self-pity, his cheekiness, his courage, his eloquence - he matches, arguably even defeats, Mr Modi. The BJP suddenly realizes it is ruling an India which requires the devotees of Krishna Kanhaiya to make room for Kanhaiya Kumar.

Kanhaiya Kumar has already, at the age of 28, become the political phenomenon the Communist movement has sorely lacked. His eloquence could single-handedly revive the moribund Communist Party of India (CPI). It seems he has already been conscripted into campaigning for the party in the forthcoming State Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala, two states where the CPI still has a tenuous presence and candidates to field.

He is the Sitaram Yechury of his generation - the brave student leader, also from JNU, of the 1970s, who stunned the nation by his courageous defiance of the Government, spoke Truth to Power, and went on to rise to the top of his party. If Kanhaiya weren't just 28, he might even have been catapulted onto the national stage already with a Rajya Sabha seat from Kerala, where the CPI is entitled to a seat this year - but you have to be at least 30 to be elected to the Upper House, so Kanhaiya will have to wait.

The irony is that for all this, Kanhaiya has placed his undeniable idealism and sincerity at the service of a discredited ideology that has been repudiated everywhere in the world except in a handful of pockets in our country. He speaks feelingly of democracy and freedom but belongs to a party that believes in dictatorship. He upholds a constitution his ideology deems bourgeois, and demands rights that would be denied to all Indians by the practitioners of the Gulag and Tiananmen Square. He rejects the power of the state but does so on behalf of a movement that has used violence, brutality and even murder to advance its cause in Kerala and elsewhere.

Kanhaiya represents a voice of hope and aspiration - but he toils in the service of a party that opposed the introduction of computers into India (and smashed the first ones to be installed in government offices), denounced the entry of mobile phones as a toy for the rich (whereas nothing has empowered the Indian underclass more than the mobile phone), and consistently obstructs every progressive reform that would pull the poor out of poverty. His party, moored in a 19th century ideology, is manifestly unsuited to 21st century India.

What Kanhaiya Kumar stands for to most Indians transcends the party he has pledged his allegiance to. One can only hope that he is not reduced to a CPI apparatchik, a slave to an ideology and a political party that deserves to be rejected at the polls.

Kanhaiya legitimizes the dissent of ordinary Indians against the trends being promoted by the BJP government. One can only pray that one day he will rise above the platform he has inherited from two generations of CPI leaders in his family, and truly speak for the millions of Indian democrats he has now inspired.

Kanhaiya Kumar has shown that the government is only for BJP supporters – and against everyone else

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will struggle hard to recover from the deadly punches Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar threw at him in his fiery speech on the evening of March 3, hours after his release on bail in a sedition case.

No doubt, Modi will continue to remain prime minister for another three years and he may continue to win elections here and there. But what he seems to have lost irreversibly – unless he takes urgent corrective measures – is the authority and prestige he commands because of the post he holds.
Modi stands diminished. This is because Kumar has conveyed to the nation through his speech – beamed live on just about every channel – that Modi has chosen to govern not as prime minister of all citizens, but only of the Sangh Parivar and other Hindutva adherents. That he oversees an extremely partisan administration, brooks no opposition and criticism, and that his government has deliberately triggered an ideological war that his party wishes to win by conjuring up episodes to justify the use of state power. Kumar also trained the spotlight on the many promises Modi made to the electorate, but he seemingly never intended to implement.

Previous attacks

Others, too, have criticised Modi by employing more or less the same tropes Kumar took recourse to in his speech. You can count among them Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, and Arvind Kejriwal, who only a couple of months ago tweeted about the prime minister being a “coward” and a “psychopath”. But they are recognised as electoral rivals of Modi. It is their job, perhaps, even their responsibility, to corner the prime minister. In attacking Modi, they only conform to our expectations.

Kumar does not suffer from what can be called the handicap of expectations. He doesn’t have an election to win, power to grab, a political career to fashion – though his speech of March 3 could well become the beginning of one. He is among the many student leaders on our campuses owing allegiance to the Left or Centrist or Right parties. He has been wronged and maligned. To us, therefore, his speech had the fury of the innocent, who is palpably shocked to discover the workings of the system. This was why his speech sounded to us as our voice, that of the common person.
In contrast to the attacks of seasoned political leaders on Modi, Kumar’s seemed selfless, undertaken at great risk. He isn’t, after all, insulated from the blowback of the state, as most politicians are. Only three weeks ago, he had been arrested and interrogated. He had been thrashed on the court premises. Unmindful of his recent tribulations, Kumar still came out with his guns blazing. To his listeners, he came across as a courageous young man willing to take on the country’s most powerful man.

The courage Kumar displayed challenges an enduring myth about Modi – that he doesn’t forgive his critics, that he is a strongman who evokes fear in those around him. When Modi came to Delhi as prime minister, bureaucrats stopped airing views about their ministries over the phone, fearing it was tapped and somebody would be listening in. There were many juicy, but disturbing, stories about Union ministers cowering before Modi.

David vs Goliath

The belief that Modi is to be feared has been shattered by the many barbs Kumar threw at him, each cheered lustily by the audience surrounding him in JNU. He was mocking Modi’s power as well as daring him. It is possible his government may still retaliate against Kumar, but only at its own peril. It would only reinforce the growing impression that Modi is authoritarian, brought out in Kumar’s reference to Hitler. The student leader said, “Modiji was talking about [Joseph] Stalin and [Nikita] Khrushchev in Parliament. When I heard him speaking I felt like saying...Modiji, please speak about Hitler a little.”

But the perceived authoritarian streak in Modi is not only because of his personality but because of the ideology to which he subscribes. The student leader asked Modi to talk about “Mussolini whose black cap you wear, who [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder, MS] Golwarkar sahib went to meet”. In other words, it is the Hindutva ideology which has Modi, as also the Sangh outfits, embracing an authoritarian style of functioning, being intolerant of differences of opinion.

Scarcely before has a prime minister been rebuked so publicly. It was David taking on Goliath. Kanhaiya’s speech will be seen as a battle between the powerless and the powerful, between the privileged and the common person. Kanhaiya did not let his listeners forget that he belongs to an impoverished family, that JNU has provided him and others of his class an avenue for social mobility, to be educated in the country’s premier educational institute. Modi is the other, the powerful and rich foe. Modi’s chaiwala persona has been denuded of its symbolical meaning.

Sharp polarisation

Obviously, Kumar’s speech will have enraged Sangh Parivar supporters, as it will enthuse their ideological opponents. But this illustrates vividly that the Modi Sarkar has become partisan, commanding the respect and deference of only those who belong to the prime minister’s party and a segment of those who voted for it in the 2014 elections. You will not even have neutral political pundits express dismay at Kanhaiya being disrespectful to the prime minister and diminishing his stature overnight.

They will not do so because Modi isn’t perceived to be just and fair, as is expected of any prime minister. In a democracy, governments do try to execute the agendas of their parties and hope to establish the dominance of their respective ideologies. But this cannot and should not be at the expense of fair play; it cannot and should not lead members of society to win the ideological battle through bloodletting. Modi has forgotten these aspects of governance, choosing to remain silent even as his own party members have tried to light one fire after another through divisive programmes like love jihad, ghar wapsi, cow protection, and the ongoing attempt to crush dissent.

It, therefore, did not come as a surprise that Kumar should have referred to Modi’s tweets and his "Mann ki Baat" radio programme. Over the months, these outlets have come to signify Modi’s refusal to speak on issues agitating the people. These are merely his devices to trumpet his government’s programmes or remember those who constitute the pantheon of Sangh leaders.

Like many others, Kumar too was railing against the prime minister’s style of communication. It is a style which doesn’t establish conversation, refuses to engage critics, and revels in the adulation of his followers. His government has consequently become the government of the Bharatiya Janata Party, by the Bharatiya Janata Party, for Bharatiya Janata Party supporters. All other Indians are rivals who have to be fought – and vanquished through means fair or foul.

Kumar portrayed the government as insensitive and hard-hearted, most tellingly by quoting his mother, who had asked, “Why doesn’t Modi speak of Maa [Mother] ki baat [instead of Mann Ki Baat]?” It speaks of a government indifferent to the anguish of mothers, their silent lament. In our collective consciousness, this is now neatly juxtaposed with the prime minister and his ministers who are forever paying obeisance to Bharat Mata or Mother India.

Lessons to be learnt from Modi Government

In many ways, Kumar has undermined the moral legitimacy of the Modi government. He has shown it to be culpable of triggering debates on spurious issues to divert popular attention from its own failings. As Kumar said, “Do not try to separate the constable, the farmer, the soldier, poor people like me, by creating distorted binaries. I salute the soldiers, but have you ever thought of their families, the families of farmers who are forced to commit suicide?”

The distorted binaries, Kumar suggested, have been created to ensure people do not remember Modi’s elections promises of “sabka saath, sabka vikas” (Together with all, development for all), of bringing back black money from abroad, and depositing Rs 15 lakh in each person’s account. From this perspective, it is not only a government for the BJP supporters, but also against the people.

It is likely that Kumar’s speech will be ignored by Modi with his customary disdain. Or he will continue to perceive the growing criticism against his government as a conspiracy of the Gandhis, the communists, the socialists, the anarchists, et al. He will, as he did in Parliament on March 3, accuse Rahul Gandhi of suffering from an inferiority complex, of being jealous that he isn’t the prime minister. In his speech, Modi also said, “We need to make an atmosphere of improving trust. If you have suggestions, please do so. The government also needs to improve and this will not happen without your support.”

To improve, the prime minister must heed Kumar's words. His is the voice of the people. Five years after the anti-corruption movement, it isn’t Parliament that has stirred the nation, but a common person, a young man from the backwaters of Bihar. Kumar’s rise, ironically, also reflects the declining significance of Parliament in our lives.

Full Speech: Kanhaiya Kumar, Out On Bail, Speaks Of 'Azadi' On JNU Campus

Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar who was released from jail today on bail received a hero's welcome at the campus on Thursday evening. In a defiant speech, he took shots at the government tearing into charges of sedition against him and said he had faith in India's Constitution and democracy. Here are the highlights of his address:
 

• I want to thank everyone who has stood with JNU.
• I want to thank the people sitting in Parliament deciding what is right and what is wrong.
• I want thank their police and some media channels.
• I have no hatred towards anybody, especially towards ABVP.
• Because the ABVP we have on campus is more rational than the ABVP outside.
• There will be no witch hunt against them.
• We have no ill feelings towards ABVP because we truly believe in democracy and the Constitution.
• We don't look at ABVP as the enemy, we look at them like the Opposition.
• The best thing about how JNU has stood up in one voice was that it was spontaneous
• They had all of it planned but we were spontaneous.
• We stand up for all parts of Constitution - socialism, secularism and equality.
• I don't want to comment on the case. It is sub judice.
• I have many differences with the PM but I agree with his tweet - Satyameva Jayate - truth will triumph.
• In railway stations you will find a guy who shows you magic tricks. We have some people like that in our country.
• They say black money will come back, sabka saath sabka vikas, equality and all that.
• Yes we Indians forget things too soon but this time the tamasha is too big. These jumlas wont be forgotten.
• But what will happen if you speak up?
• Their cyber-cell will release doctored videos and count condoms in your dustbins.
• This is a planned attack to delegitimise the UGC protests, to prevent justice to Rohith Vemula.
• But let me just say it is not easy to get admission in JNU neither it is easy to silence those in JNU.
• You cannot dilute our struggle.
• They say soldiers are dying on the borders - I salute them.
• I want to ask the BJP lawmaker who said in Parliament that soldiers are dying on the border - is he your son or brother?
• He is the son or father of the farmer who is dying of drought.
• Do not create a false debate in this country.
• Who is responsible for their deaths?
• We will not rest till everybody has an equal right to prosperity.
• We are not asking for freedom from India because India has not colonised anyone.
• The man fighting on the border, perhaps he wanted to study but he couldn't get to JNU.
• You want to silence one Rohith, today look how big that revolution has become.
• I realised one thing in jail. We people of JNU speak in civilised voices, but we use heavy terminologies.
• Perhaps it doesn't reach the common man. We have to establish communication with the common people.
• We will bring Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas for real.
• Today the honourable PM was talking about Stalin, I say Modi ji speak about Hitler too sometimes. Or maybe Mussolini?
• He speaks of Mann Ki Baat but doesn't listen.
• What is happening today in the country is very dangerous.
• It is not about one party, one news channel.
• I have never told this to anybody but my family makes Rs. 3,000. Can you imagine somebody like me doing a PhD in any other college?
• And they are calling anybody who stands up for this, traitor?
• What kind of a self-proclaimed nationalism is this?
• I want to remind our government that 69 per cent voted against you.
• Just 31 per cent voted for you and some of them were caught up in your jumlas.
• And today they are running a distraction campaign so that people don't ask them the real questions.
• RSS mouthpiece The Organiser did a cover story on JNU.
• If they can reason in a debate why JNU should be shut for four months, I will agree with them.
• They want to suppress the voice of dissent but I want to tell them, you will never be able to do that.
• Once again let's raise slogans for freedom - not from India, but within India.
• Freedom from hunger, poverty, the caste system - all of that.