JNU is at a crossroads once again in the realm of student politics. This time the JNU community is up against their VC Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit for her remarks in a podcast where she said that Dalits, much like the blacks, are drugged into permanent victimhood. This was in light of the recent UGC guidelines that safeguarded caste discrimination for SC ST OBC Women PwD EWS students across university campuses in India.

The entire JNU community is up in arms against her and JNUSU has even called for a lockdown of the university seeking apology from the VC for her remarks against Dalits. As of now 14 members of the left and JNUSU are in judicial custody in Tihar Jail, with their bail being secured awaiting their release.

To an outsider it seems that the JNU is fighting a novel cause for the rights of the Dalits but as an insider people are kept bereft of the inner workings of left student politics at JNU in particular and India in general.

Left Led JNUSU Office bearers recently damaged and destroyed the biometric installation in the Dr Ambedkar Central Library claiming that JNU stands against any form of surveillance. The Biometric Machines were public property and hence after a proctorial investigation, the Office bearers of JNUSU were rusticated and  heavy fines imposed on them.

Then came the UGC guidelines, Supreme Court’s stay on these guidelines and VC’s remarks. All this happened around the same time. 

Left Parties and the JNUSU under their banner played their trick and hitchiked to create a narrative for their political agenda.

When in reality JNUSU officer bearers were rusticated for destroying public property they weaved a narrative that they were rusticated for protesting against the Supreme Court’s stay on UGC guidelines and Madam VC’s remarks against Dalits as mentioned above.

When their narrative was successful, they brought the University to a halt, deliberately and forcefully locking down classrooms as part of the University strike and called for lectures to be taken outside the classrooms as a mark of protest.

What’s intriguing here is that real Dalit Politick has fallen victim to the Left’s narrative once again. Ambedkar has been appropriated in a manner that Dalit Politick is either absent or subservient to the Left’s narrative.

Even UDSF, United Dalit Students Forum, a non political dalit student front in JNU is playing by the books of the Left as it has called for a resignation of the JNU VC for her insensitive remarks against Dalits.

Now let us dissect the remarks made by Madam VC. She said Dalits like blacks are drugged into permanent victimhood.

While, given her association with RSS, VC’s remarks are seen by Dalits as an injustice to their fight against caste and undermines the struggle of millions against discrimination and a life full of drudgery, Dalits have not even given her statement a thought even for a second.

For a moment, we can accept that VC’s remarks were not that of a well wisher but Dalits should not shy away from the question that is now put across them, that is till when will they keep crying victims? Have they become comfortable in being victims? Does Victimhood sell? Whom does it support and benefit? Does it create political careers for the climbers and caste hustlers without changing the status quo?

The time has come when as a Dalit questions should be asked from the Dalit Intelligentsia that even after more than 80 years of independence and the politics of victimhood why class disparities within Dalits are at an all time high?

Who will ask the Dalit Intelligentsia the questions about where they have failed ? 

Why are Dalits afraid of internal criticism?

Is it that a class has emerged among Dalits which perpetually want to maintain its class position so that the rest of the Dalits don’t challenge them and the politics of victimhood helps keep it the way it is?