NEW DELHI: Urging students to develop campuses as platforms for cohesive and inclusive debates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while unveiling a statue of Swami Vivekananda on the JNU campus on Thursday, suggested that national interest should not be compromised for individual ideologies and thoughts, a message seen in the context of frequent clashes and even violence between Left and BJP men in the university.
“One thing that has harmed the democratic set-up of our country is giving priority to one’s own ideology rather than the interest of the nation,” Modi said on the occasion where he urged students to imbibe the thoughts of Vivekananda, whose primary focus, he said, was to make India a great nation and a global power.
Modi, wearing a saffron jacket, said one should be flexible in giving priority to national interest and not solely follow individual thinking. “One can take a glimpse at history that in times of adversity, people of different ideologies came together. People of different ideologies came together under Gandhiji’s leadership and they fought together as there was a common cause,” he said.
“It was witnessed during Emergency also. I was part of that movement... RSS, Jana Sangh, communists, several people belonging to JNU had also joined hands and fought together for national interest,” he added.
While the event was on, many students who had been protesting at the university’s north gate for two weeks over re-entry of students into the campus, showed their dissent against the PM. In an open letter, JNU Students’ Union asked, “Why did the Centre recommend the appointment of a vice-chancellor who left no stone unturned in destroying a university that has produced Nobel laureates? Why were students called criminals and anti-nationals, while those praising Nathuram Godse found a high place in Parliament?”
Though BJP affiliated students’ wings have made some inroads in JNU, the campus remains predominantly a Marxist bastion that saw pitched battles in January between groups over issues like demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act, hostel fee hikes and blockading of academic activities. BJP’s student wing ABVP was accused of organising violence while it claimed that Left groups had intimidated students in hostels.
Modi said any decision taken out of obsession with a certain ideology harmed the nation. “If someone has accepted an ideology only in self-interest and as opportunism, it doesn’t succeed. We have to ensure that healthy debate remains alive,” he said.
“India is a land where seeds of different ideologies germinate and flourish. Youth of the country should strengthen this tradition of the country,” he said and added, “This very tradition makes India the most vibrant democracy of the world.”
Modi cited the JNU hostels, which are named after rivers of the country like Ganga, Godavari, Jhelum and Sutlej.
He also mentioned the popular joint on the campus — Sabarmati Dhaba — where students gather for refreshments and said, “The statue of Swami Vivekananda is an addition where students can gather and exchange ideas.”