Makarand Paranjape, poet and professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on Tuesday took on students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who is facing sedition charge, asking him whether he checked his facts before delivering the much-celebrated speech.
“Mr. Kumar said Golwalkar met Mussolini. Did you check your facts, it was Moonje who met Mussolini. I am not saying they were not impressed by the fascist, they were. They thought it is a very good idea to have an authoritarian system. Please let us agree on what is factual and what is not. Fascism stands for anti-democratic position and so does Stalinism,” Mr. Paranjape said, while addressing the students at JNU.
“I am proud to belong to a country where one so called judicial murder created such a huge ruckus. Do you know how many judicial murders were committed from 1920 to 1950s in Stalin’s USSR? Almost a million and how many people were executed for criminal and civil charges? Only 34000,” he added.
Paranjape was speaking at the 15th edition of the Speak-in at the administration block.
Mr. Paranjape, unlike other speakers who took a pro-Left position on the issue of Nationalism debate, was interrupted by sloganeering by Kanhaiya Kumar and was also booed by some students in the audience. Mr. Paranjape was also made to face a barrage of questions from the audience, again led by Mr. Kumar.
Speaking amid a gathering, which was either neutral or pro-Left, Mr. Paranjape still took on Mr. Kumar’s “misrepresentation” during a speech after his release from jail.
Speaking on the topic “Uncivil wars: Tagore, Gandhi, JNU and What’s left of the Nation?”, Mr. Paranjape said: “When we (JNU) consider ourselves to be a democratic space we should also ask ourselves if this is entirely true. Isn’t it possible that this is a Left hegemonic space, where if you disagree you are silenced, you are boycotted, you are brow beaten, or ... (at this point he was shouted down and JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid had to ask students to maintain order) but I love JNU too.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/jnu-professor-exposes-kanhaiya-kumar-on-his-azadi-speech_1863484.html

JNU professor exposes Kanhaiya Kumar on his 'azadi' speech

Last Updated: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 - 00:14
JNU professor exposes Kanhaiya Kumar on his 'azadi' speech
Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Makarand Paranjape, Monday, took onKanhaiya Kumar for quoting wrong facts, while delivering his speech at the campus after being released from Tihar Jail last week.
Paranjape, poet and professor of English at JNU, made the comments while speaking at 15th edition of the speak-in at JNU: “India’s Uncivil Wars. Tagore, Gandhi — JNU and what is ‘Left’ of the nation”.
While addressing the students and some faculty members, Paranjape questioned Kumar for wrongly quoting historical facts.
“Kanhaiya said in his celebrated speech Golwalkar met Mussolini. Did you check your facts, it was Moonje who met Mussolini. I am not saying they were not impressed by the fascist, they were. They thought it is a very good idea to have an authoritarian system. Please let us agree on what is factual and what is not. Fascism stands for anti-democratic position and so does Stalinism," the professor said.
Notably, Paranjape's speech was interrupted by Kanhaiya Kumar amid sloganeering and booing by some students. However, other speakers, who were pro-Left, had a smooth run.
The professor further took on Kanhaiya for saying that his organisation was the oldest and fought a lot for independence. The JNU president is a member of All India Students Association (AISA), which is the student wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
"The Communist Party of India wrote to the British that they will not agitate when you are fighting, we will cooperate with you. When he (Kumar) said we fought for Independence of India, I want to know what the evidences are,” the professor said
Paranjape's stated that the present discourse in JNU in particular and in the country in general has destroyed the middle ground, adding that only the extremes are left.
Earlier, the professor had said the February 9 event in support of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at JNU was carried out under a false pretext.
JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested for sedition, was released from the Tihar Jail on March 03.

First Published: Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - 11:14