In a move to recover itself from the wounds of the February 2016 incident, when a few students were arrested on sedition charges for raising anti-national slogans. JNU plans to take the help of NCC, an organization which trains the youth of the country for basic military practices and parades.
The youths of JNU from both the undergraduate and postgraduate courses would be given training on different levels which could also provide them a chance to join the active Indian military services if they are interested. Recently, the Vice-Chancellor of JNU, Mr. M Jagadesh Kumar requested union ministers to help with the procurement of an army tank to be placed at the JNU Campus. The JNU is currently trying t do everything they could to make sure that a repeat of the February 9 incidence never happens again at the University.
With initiatives and proposals such as these, and a few activities that are undertaken recently, such as the March where the members of the JNU community carried a 2,200 ft. long tricolor to mark the Kargil War which took place in 1999 between India and Pakistan, and the installation of the ‘Wall of Heroes’ located at JNU’s convention center, which displays the photographs of 21 Param Veer Chakra Award winners. The JNU seeks to instill in its students the values and the importance of nationalism and wants its students to love their country for its rich culture and heritage.
A few of these moves and initiatives have been met with criticism, citing the fact that JNU is trying to force its ideologies on its students. However, for JNU, these initiatives are highly necessary in order to make students follow a common perspective, and through these activities, the students could be constantly reminded of the great things about our country.
With the involvement of the NCC and the debate on bringing an army tank into the campus, the University seems to be wanting to convey their ideologies by making their students remember the efforts of the Indian Armed Forces. However, forcing too much of the same thing on the students could just end up with the creation of another controversy, as the University is currently only focusing on forcing Nationalist values into its students. There should be proper care taken with such issues so that the feeling of Patriotism does not end up becoming a forced nationalist ideology.
