5 songs that define JNU and its creatures
We all were textbook idealists, while growing up. But a 28-year-old Kanhaiya Kumar of JNU (in)fame still is - it is both funny and scary, in equal parts. Such talent, much wasted. In light humor, here are 5 songs which define this strange place called JNU and its creatures.
JNU is the quintessential 'Hotel California' where you can check-in anytime but you can never leave. The comrades just don't graduate, they keep pursuing their degrees. While most of us are strong believers of quality education age notwithstanding, the JNU jholas fight when their institute makes attendance mandatory. It just does not add up - if they want to study, why don't they attend classes?
Since they don't attend classes, they have a lot of time for creating slogans. And, boy are they violent. They want azadi (from whom - that keeps changing every month), fight with their own Vice-Chancellor, sometimes lock him. If truth be told, in all these very many years of my existence, I don't know a single person who wishes "tukde tukde" on anyone, let alone their own motherland.
Their lal-salaam filled violence is not the only thing one despises, it is their absolute hypocrisy which is mind-boggling. They call you names, question your beliefs, poke fun at you in the garb of elitism, but when you retaliate you are a troll. And, unlike Lana Del Rey, they are not pretty when they cry. I am already half prepared for a feminism bomb to be dropped at me now.
The comrades have an opinion about everything - feminism, minority rights, social and economic justice, to name a few. One wonders how can someone be an expert on so many topics. And, if you go by their version, everything is wrong in this world and only they can fix it. That they can't even watch a movie in harmony is a different question altogether.
And, here's the bomb: The obsession with the R-word. Have you noticed the number of times a JNU student talks about religion? Of course, no one lives in a dreamy world and claims that things are hunky dory in this country. When a billion people live together, there are fights. There are communal angles to them as well. But, there is an India outside the JNU campus. And, that India, with all its flaws, is beautiful. Let no comrade tell you otherwise.
Our unsolicited advice to these violent souls is: Give peace a chance. Get off your high horse and see that an average Indian does not care about Marx, Lenin or in fact, you. But, for that you have to graduate and experience the outside world first-hand.
