Patna,(BiharTimes): The native returned to his home-state, but not home at Bihat village in Begusarai district after his ordeal in Delhi. Instead he called his father, who is not in the best of health, to Patna.
Critics are quick to dub it as a childish behaviour of a son, who has risen to a new height––literally, as he is flying more than travelling by rail or road. Anyway that is a different issue and apart from other factors, security was the issue, which prevented him from going to Bihat.
Kanhaiya Kumar is no doubt a bold and daring youth, who has taken on the might of Narendra Modi. But brave and courageous souls do not fear visiting birth-place.
Usually such personalities are unyielding and do not bend or stoop. No doubt, touching feet does not amount to bootlicking. Yet many within the Left––and his own caste too––are not willing to accept his explanation given a day later in S K Memorial Hall that he touched Lalu Prasad’s feet on April 30 just as a mark of respect for an elder person. Anyway this gesture was appreciated by many in RJD, or say Grand Alliance.
His statement on prohibition––may be he has his own logic––created more confusion than cleared the air. This provided ample opportunity to some mediapersons to speculate whether the whole two-day trip was sponsored by liquor mafia. But it is often alleged that sometimes journalists stretch their imagination to an absurd length.
Notwithstanding criticism on these counts Kanhaiya’s trip has exploded the myth that the youths have become indifferent to all the burning issues. For the first time in the last several decades a youth in late 20s managed to attract a sizeable crowd.
The Hall was overflowing as he spoke for 80 minutes on the day he was fasting. The target was Narendra Modi. He was clearly soft towards the Congress at the national level and JD(U) and RJD in Bihar.
His repeated thrust on “Minimum Understanding, Maximum Unity” confirms this fact.
He did expose all the promises made by NaMo in 2014 to youths and students. He went on to state that the scholarship to M Phil and PhD students have been stopped and in 2015 the BJP government could not create more than 1.34 lakh jobs against the promise of two crores annually. He was to the point while highlighting the deteriorating education standard and growth of elite schools.
As it was the International Labour Day he did talk about blue-collared ‘mazdoor’ but also highlighted the plight of white-collared tie-wearing labourers. Many of them are qualified engineers working as a salesman of a certain cosmetic firm. He accused the prime minister of playing into the hands of Ambani and Adani.
He did talk of ‘Brahmanwad’ in schools were white-complexioned student wearing clean clothes get less punishment than dark-complexioned one in dirty clothes even if both commit the same wrong
Kanhaiya said that he raised the issue of Common School System with the chief minister a day earlier. But surprisingly the All India Students’ Federation leader did not say anything on the deteriorating standard of government schools of Nitish Kumar’s Bihar.
True buildings have been built, cycles, uniforms and buooks are regularly distributed, but the education standard has gone from bad––when Kanhaiya used to go to government school during Lalu-Rabri era––to worse now.
When it comes to JNUSU presidents from Biihar names of late Chandrashekhar and Ashutosh, who also won as AISA candidate in 2014, come to mind.
Unlike them Kanhaiya is a Bhumihar, an upper caste. His home district, particularly, his village, is known for producing a large number of Communists––some committed while some others just for the sake of political fashion.
Basudev Prasad, the then CPI MLC from a village in the vicinity of Bihat, used to reach Council on rickshaw, even in 21st century.
Chandrashekhar, on the other hand, left Delhi to take up the cudgel against the Siwan don, Mohammad Shahabuddin, in his home turf only to sacrifice his life.
The fourth name of JNUSU president, which comes to mind is of N R Mohanty, who won as Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha candidate in 1980s. Though he is originally from Odisha, in a way, Bihar became his second home. He served as Assistant Editor of The Times of India and Resident Editor of Hindustan Times in Patna before moving back to Delhi.
Kanhaiya is the product of the circumstances as the BJP bungled up the whole issue. It would be too early to judge him as one judges matured and seasoned politicians. But he needs to understand that he is being watched by everyone and should tread a cautious path. If not he may lose the goodwill he has generated. He can not ignore his Communist and Bihat roots.
