Campus Dichotomy

By Mehraj Din

Knowledge remains at the epicentre in every civilizational discourse and aims to nourish channelize and develop certain universal traits. The very reason for the existence of knowledge/education is to help the subjects in evolving a mechanism to recognize the ultimate transcendental reality and its idealist universal manifestation in the form of Justice.

Universities are the nerve-centre of every civilization and are supposed to free “the seekers of knowledge” from the fetters of stupefied vision of life into eclectic visionaries. The cherished dream of entering the university is due to its indubitable role in shaping the individual and collective future of subjects and nations.

But shall we expect the same from the Kashmir University?

Undoubtedly, the morphology of Kashmir University and its unaltered perennial beauty in changing season gives you hope and nourish the dreams of optimism. Surprisingly, the realistic picture inside the campus loses no time to shatter all your dreams and pack them with the seal of hopelessness. They are living in the “illusion of their idealist utopian dream” and the “architects of nation” (consciously/unconsciously) have opportunistically aligned themselves with the occupational status-quo and left no intellectual idea or personality unexploited to deconstruct and delegitimize any form of dissent.

PDP has surrendered itself as a newlywed bride to BJP and this alliance has time and again proved that any anti-state initiative will not be shown any soft corner and will be crushed ruthlessly. Understanding the dynamics of Kashmir University in purview of this ‘alliance’ will help us to contextualize its “majoritarian narrative” in a more nuanced manner.

Kashmir University was harbouring the distant dream for a local Vice Chancellor which turned out to be a reality when one of our native professors joined the campus as the new head of the institution. A wave of optimism was very much visible across the campus and all the factions started to hope for the development of different sorts like scrutiny in disbursement of departmental funds, fair selection, opening up of spaces and revoking the ban on student activism famously represented by Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU).

Unsurprisingly, Kashmir University and its administration continued(s) its silent loyalist alliance with the brokers of Indian State and insurrected every conscious voice who dare to speak and stand against the chasms of occupational status-quo.

Looking into the recent events, starting from the acceptance of Sadhbavna – Army donation – into nepotistic appointments, from allowing the marathon in disputed territory to facilitating the pro-state functions and their student unions, from patronizing immorality on the name of cultural events into recalcitrant resistance against moral activities/programs of Islamic student groups (Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba), from allowing and shielding the female harassment to bashing of female students by external police forces on June 25, 2015.

The illusionary display of “all is well” attitude from KU administration is nothing more than a hoax, veiling the discrepancies and internal departmental lobbyism. The recent event and order of rusticating seven students who are claimed to have “barged into the house of a professor” is based on “half-truths and misinterpreted to set an example for muzzling the voices of dissent”.

The VC framed a committee to look into the issue that ended up into the rustication order of seven students. Even for the sake of argument if we accept the administrative version of this event and accept the rustication order but those who are aware of “internal schisms” of Kashmir University might ask why such objectivity and committees are never framed for maintaining transparency against the “never made public cases”. The pedagogy of the oppressed works well, where “students and research scholars” are taught tough lessons once they try to revolt against the racist manoeuvres, growing favouritism, internal corruption and repression.

Kashmir University and its representative institutional offshoots whether it is teachers association, security wings or its administrative setup, all of them have turned into “the male Cyprians to further the policies and programs of our colonizer”.

The “no-compromise” and “repressive” agenda of house Negroes seems clear in the administrative set-up of Kashmir University and KUTA (Kashmir University teachers Association) is also strictly following the rules to have the phone numbers of their masters in their phone book.

Individual and academic integrity is compromised and the blood, cries of wailing mothers and endless pain of our mothers is being intellectually diverted into silence for the sake of mere concessions. Those who have aligned themselves with the colonizer must not forget that occupations never last long and the control on knowledge and its institutional offshoots by the regimes of power might end up in a fearless and unforgivable revolution.

How true Hamid Dabashi sounds in “Can Non-Europeans Think” when he says, “coloniality doesn’t need colonialism; it needs a collaborator.”

(The author is the “subjugated” student of Kashmir University. Ideas expressed are the author’s own)