Raging #SeditionDebate: JNU professors want a national commission for nationalism

New Delhi: Amid a raging row at JNU, a section of the varsity’s teachers want that a commission for nationalism should be established on the lines of commissions like national commission for women to find out what is nationalistic and what is not. “We suggest that a new Commission should be constituted to check anti-national activities of politically motivated people on the lines of the National Commission of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Minorities,” teachers, who are members of JNU teachers’ association (JNUTA) said in a joint statement. Explaining about their view on the formation of the commission Mondira Dutta, who teaches at School of International Studies, said at a press conference, “there should be a commission for nationalism. Such a commission can work to find out what is nationalistic and what’s not. We need a commission like that.” The teachers are divided over the current row at university against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. [caption id=“attachment_2674894” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file image of JNU students protesting near Jantar Mantar. Image by Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] A section of teachers who have been protesting against JNUTA’s support to students booked in a sedition case over the event said, they have lost faith in current JNUTA leadership and are tired of its “disproportionate” protest to “malign” the whole university and its public image. “We derecognize the elected body for their repeated failings to take up teacher related causes,” said Hari Ram Mishra, who teaches at Special Center for Sanskrit Studies. They also said that JNUTA should not act as an extended arm of JNU students’ union (JNUSU) as the JNUTA Constitution does not support such disproportionate bent of activity on anything other than teachers’ issues. “In the last JNUTA meeting they even wanted to raise money for legal defence of students as well as to file criminal cases against Arnab Goswami and other members of the media,” teachers said in a statement. The teachers also said that they condemn the anti-national sloganeering on the campus and demanded that the administration building should be banned for use by demonstrating students and teachers. “All political demonstration and public drama should be shifted to an alternate space,” they said. PTI