December 6- when students are dragged in the politics surrounding an old date.

December 6- when students are dragged in the politics surrounding an old date.

On Sunday morning, I received a press invite on Whatsapp from far right youth group Bajrang Dal, inviting media persons to ‘shaurya diwas’ (valour day) celebrations at Choti Chaupad (a congested market block situated in the walled city of Jaipur) to remember the heroic deeds of karsevaks who demolished Babri masjid on 6 December, 1992.  The press invite further mentioned that the cadres of Bajrang Dal will celebrate the day with  fireworks at Choti Chaupad as a homage to the heroism of the karsevaks. This particular detail got me worried as choti chaupad was prone to massive traffic jams due to the ongoing metro rail construction and whether ‘fireworks’ would be a safe idea. Moreover, I was curious enough to know what exactly these young people who use Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp extensively think about the date 6 December. Does this day hold any ground for the 20-21 year olds who were born after the Babri demolition?

Before my tenure at Jaipur as a trainee journalist, I was told by my seniors that it is a quiet peaceful city (‘dead’ according to journalists) and it rarely sees instances of communal tension. But then, how long does it take to spark a fire?

 December 6 is a date that has been etched in the minds of millions of countrymen who witnessed the vitriolic atmosphere of the late 80’s and early 90’s across North India. The collective campaign of BJP’s veteran Lal Krishna Advani and Vishwa Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, saw several riots sparking across the country including that in Jaipur. The pink city could not escape the hate tirade and the communal violence resulted in the death of 60 people in 1989.

This date evokes extremely polarized opinions among political factions even after 23 years of the demolition. The Left front sees it as a national shame, a blot on the secular fabric of India whereas right wing groups observe it as ‘valor day’ in remembrance of the efforts of Karsevaks to build a Ram temple.    

I also happened to receive another press invite for 6 December from the local student leaders of the National Students’ Union of India for a blood donation camp being organized in Rajasthan University. Incidentally, this day also marks as the death anniversary of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the champion law maker who fought against the hierarchy of the upper castes.

I decided to attend the blood donation camp in the morning hours so as to have an idea whether students really understood Ambedkar.

The ‘mega’ blood donation camp that was being held in the university turned out to be a damp squib as a total of 98 students ended up donating blood. The organizers cited RU’s ongoing semester examination and ‘marriage season’ in Jaipur as the reasons behind this low turnout. 

The venue of the donation camp, Humanities Hall, appeared as a political meet as student leaders and their supporters easily outnumbered the regular university students

“Students had IBPS and SSC entrances today, plus there are exams going on in colleges. We expected a low turnout. Also, many of our female friends are attending marriages across Rajasthan. We need to have better management skills to attract more crowd next year”, said Roshan Mandotiya, a former students’ union president and the convener of blood donation camp.

But when asked about the efforts of Ambedkar in the making of India as a country, majority of the student leaders failed to give an appropriate response. So much so that a vocal supporter of a particular student leader referred to Ambedkar as ‘Balasaheb’ (Bal Thackeray) instead of ‘Babasaheb’.

Apparently, anybody who has witnessed student’s elections at Rajasthan University could decipher that the blood donation event was nothing but a warm up for the aspiring student leaders before the next year’s polls. Aspirants get to meet the big wigs of NSUI and these ‘events’ are an opportunity for them to build ‘contacts’.  This year, NSUI’s candidate Satbir Chaudhary had the won the post of president and the party is considered to have a stronghold in the university’s power circles.

As the day progressed, I decided to attend the other event. 

At the congested Choti Chaupad, 70-80 people had assembled around an electric pole. The makeshift venue was heavily guarded by Jaipur police officials.

Around 15 to 20 young men of Bajrang Dal were seen organizing the small crowd that had assembled to listen to the speeches of various Vishwa Hindu Parishad campaigners.  Portraits of late VHP veteran Ashok Singhvi and Ram temple model were hung on the pole, underneath which, a local campaigner for the VHP, Devi Prasad Dubey, addressed the small crowd.

“Earlier, Ayodhya used to be the capital of world and today it has been reduced to nothing due to the coward politicians. Building Ram temple is our moral and religious duty. Where are the sons of the proud Bharat Mata?  It is the youth that has to mobilize the Hindu masses to ensure the construction of Ram temple”, roared Dubey amidst chants of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ from the supporters.

Abhishek Yadav, a 17 year old Bajrang Dal member and student of a private engineering college, was busy clicking selfies with his college friends Sonu Mishra and Ajay Rotilla at the venue. Yadav and his friends boasted of organizing the ‘shaurya diwas’ in record time span.

When asked whether he has come to celebrate a mosque’s demolition, he replied, “We have come here to protest against the demolition. Not of the mosque but of the grand Ram temple that the barbaric mughal rulers had removed to erect a mosque. For centuries we have suffered due to these monstrous outsiders. It is time that we resurrect Bharat and build the temple where it belongs. Bharat will rise and karsevaks will travel to Ayodhya again.”

When asked whether he and his friends were willing to travel to Ayodhya to build Ram temple, the answer was an emphatic yes with chants of ‘Ram lalla hum aayenge, mandir wahi banayenge’.

“We have travelled to Ayodhya several times in the past for vacations. I know this time it’ll be different but we are prepared for it”, said Ajay Rotilla, another Bajrang dal member.

But wouldn’t a trip to Ayodhya hamper their studies?

To which Sonu Mishra, a classmate of Yadav, replies, “Studies are not a concern, even our parents want us to build the temple in Ayodhya”.

I also spoke to the Jaipur Bajrang Dal’s chief Kuldeep Pareek who was busy preparing the event’s schedule. Pareek, a local politician who also has ties with VHP, considers ISIS’s invasion in India as the greatest threat to the country.

“We have to keep encouraging the youth so that they realize their duty towards their motherland. Ram mandir will be constructed at all costs and it is the students who will make this happen. If we are not prepared then ISIS’s invasion is inevitable”, said Pareek.

When asked whether 23 years later, 6 December would hold any value for the youth of today, Pareek appeared to be confident of his efforts towards not letting the young generation forget about the demolition.

“Thousands of years had passed but our brave Karsevaks did not forget their religious duty and demolished the mosque. 23 years appears a very small time period when you compare it to the centuries of oppression done by outsiders. We will have to pull the youngsters out of Facebook and Whatsapp and remind them of the valour that our ancestors displayed on this day”.

After my reporting task was completed, I enquired about the fireworks that were supposed to happen at Choti Chaupad to celebrate the demolition.

To that, Abhishek Yadav’s reply was, “Can’t you hear it? This is the firework”, while referring to Devi Prasad’s fiery speech. He further added, “the real firework is yet to happen”. 

This was Bajrang Dal, an organization trying its level best to somehow stay relevant in the political arena.

I had also spoken to various other students of Rajasthan University in the afternoon regarding the importance of 6 December. Majority of them were unaware of its history and a very few could understand the politics around it.

 “Today’s students have no clue regarding this date nor do they wish to know more about the history behind the babri demolition. We need jobs and better study opportunities in India. I am pretty sure that a temple will be the last thing in our long list of necessities”, said Dron Yadav, a student of law College.

In my opinion, India has seen enough communal violence since independence and 6 December is yet another date we have added in our long list of ‘national shame’. This old date has being dragged for years in order to seek political mileage and it might prove almost impossible to make the 20,21 year olds to pay heed to it any more.

But the most reassuring statement of relief came from Snigdha Gupta, another student of the university who was hurrying towards the examination hall.

“For me, as of this moment, 6 December is the day I have to write my semester papers. Everything else can wait”