Kanhaiya Re!
Breaking into a universe utterly
bereft of ethics in politics we heard the voice of Kanhaiya exhorting his
audience to free the nation of hunger, of poverty, of class, of caste and of
capitalism among other inequalities.
The chant was for Azadi from the various deprivations and inequalities afflicting
the nation, for freedom within the nation. With the advent of television the source of
connectedness is the televised speech and the print medium takes a back seat.
Kanhaiya’s address at the JNU after his release was electric and in that one widely
televised speech he stood in striking contrast to that other orator who won the
BJP a stupendous electoral victory in 2014.
The Azadi chant was spontaneous, not
the manufactured ‘Modi ! Modi !’ orchestrated like a number of Bhakts singing
bhajans; no expressionless Modi masks but bright eyed young faces with a dream
in their eyes; no rhetoric questioning begging for sycophantic answers, slily turning
spectators into participants; no pejorative taunts but civilised disagreements
with the opposition (not enemy); genuine applause not manufactured clapping - and
replete with wit, sarcasm and humour, putting to shame our Members of Parliament.
Kanhaiya will not need the aid of life imitating holograms for he will soon be
having live replicas all over Universities in India.
Why does Kanhaiya
strike a chord in the hearts of his audience both live and televised? He is the clever lad who turns Modi’s tweet on
its head; the bright young man who reasons out his arguments and does not tug
vainly on emotions; the boy who talks his jailer into understanding the meaning
of Lal Salaam; the cheeky youth who deplores the Prime Minister merely talking
his mind to the nation, not listening to it; he is the brave knight tilting at
an overpoweringly mighty state. It seems utterly hopeless but we wish him to win.
As I write this
I read about the posters offering a bounty of 11 lac rupees on the head of Kanhaiya. The posters have appeared all over Delhi and
the redoubtable Delhi police are considering booking the authors for the
defacing of public property!
WATCH IT HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jkQhAE-j8s
