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Dear Mr Kashyap, My name is Raj, and I am not a religious fundamentalist

Rahul Raj
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Dear Mr Kashyap, My name is Raj, and I am not a religious fundamentalist

2006-07: “Whom should we call for a talk in our first management fest?”, Akshay was lazily discussing this with his management fest team outside a chai gumti (kiosk). Sumit — a small, dark and skinny senior who was famous and infamous for absurd theater in college — was standing close to these guys and hogging bun-makkan with me and some other theater guys. He heard Akshay and his team talking about requirement of guest speakers. He came close to Akshay and said, “Why don’t you call Anurag Kashyap? I can request him to come here.” This was the first time I heard of Anurag Kashyap.

In the final years of my college days we had a lot of discussions about Anurag Kashyap. We spent time discussing movement of cameras in Black Friday, we spent time discussing how Satya written by Saurabh Shukla and Anurag Kashyap tried to create a character like Howard Roark with no past. I even remember how zealously my theatre buddies tried to fathom the movie “No Smoking” using the frameworks of “The Interpretation of Dreams”. A year after my graduation, Sumit called me one day and asked, “Did you watch Dev D?” my instant reply was, “Of course”. I used to be a big Kashyap fan, but now I am not. I don’t see him with the same respect which I had for him for the last many years.

Just few days back, when Hollywood veteran Meryl Streep attacked Trump from the podium of Golden Globes, it was lauded as an act of bravery. Many from Bollywood wrote that the film-industry in India lacks a similar kind of courage. Kashyap too wrote that the film-fraternity doesn’t show spine to stand for people who speak-up.


After May 2014, we have been seeing this quite frequently. Krantikaari (revolutionary) artists of Bollywood have used multiple forums to mention that they are curtailed from speaking; it sometimes becomes a paradox when these krantikaaris use multiple forums to write and speak that they are not allowed to write and speak. Without going into this delicious irony, let us come to the main issue at hand. Yesterday, the Kashmiri actor Zaira Wasim, who played a role in Dangal, was attacked and abused by religious fanatics. Zaira Wasim had to face the attacks because she worked with Bollywood, so I expected Bollywood to show some courage this time. I was saddened to see the grave silence of our Krantikaari artists and so I appealed (without abusing or harassing) to them to stand for Zaira.


Instead of supporting Zaira, Anurag Kashyap chose to spit on me. He compared me to those radicals who harassed Zaira. I have seen media and political figures drawing false equivalences to attack people, but I expected Kashyap to engage in a more fair manner. I anticipated him to show courage which he seeks from Bollywood. I didn’t imagine that Kashyap will disappoint me to this extent.


Dear Kashyap, I don’t carry guns to scare people, I don’t scare people by reminding them of religion, I don’t abuse small girls by calling them sluts.  Go through some of these comments written against Zaira and let me know how you drew that equivalence.

Dear Kashyap, unlike you, I don’t hide under the veil of neutrality; unlike you, I don’t pretend to have no political side; unlike you, I don’t play victim-card to win my arguments.


As far as troll army is concerned, let me share a personal experience. Only few days back, I was severely bullied by AAP and Congress handles. A third grade journalist (whom you follow) raised allegations of harassment and stalking against me, and I was harassed for a week. My employer received more than 20,000 tweets and many harsh mails against me. I didn’t cry victim because I knew that if I dare to speak against people, I should also have courage to face them. You also seem to be worried about Modi following me.


This was really very childish Anurag, very, very childish. Why should a PM not have the freedom to choose like you can have? Does my freedom to question you make me a criminal? Does my freedom to have a political opinion make me a sinner? Does the support extended to me make me a scoundrel? This may be irrelevant, but I have sweated in fierce sun and shivered in cold nights to enter a good college, I have burnt midnight oil to represent my college in theatre and sports, I have not slept many nights so that I can excel in my job as well as pursue my hobby of writing. Does that make me less qualified to be followed by the PM?

A friend of mine used to say that, deep inside, Anurag Kashyap has a male, macho ego which is why he keeps protagonists like Ransa in his movies. Your silly, sissy, replies and responses have proved him wrong.

I was stupid to believe in you, not any more..

Anurag Kashyap trolled on Twitter after making foolish statements

OpIndia Staff
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Anurag Kashyap trolled on Twitter after making foolish statements

The new year has just begun and maverick director of Bollywood, Anurag Kashyap has already staked claim for the most foolish statement of 2017. Last year too Kashyap faced the wrath of social media for his idiotic comments, and 2017 was no different.

We had yesterday reported how 16-year-old Dangal star Zaira Wasim was forced into an apology by vile and abusive comments from Jihadi radical Islamists. We had also reported that now that a Bollywood actor had been targeted, it was time for the likes of Anurag Kashyap, to practise what they preach, and stand up and speak up for such bullied actors:


Our Co-Founder  politely asked Anurag Kashyap to voice his concerns and show solidarity with Wasim:


But instead of attacking the Jihadi radical Islamists, Anurag Kashyap attacked  by hilariously equating a man with a keyboard with men armed with AK 47s and bombs, and proceeded to name and  condemn    first, and then, condemned an unknown quantity called “them”:


Perhaps Kashyap’s obvious reluctance to name these “them” as opposed to his openness in naming our co-founder, showed the difference between the two, and social media users drove home the point to Kashyap:


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After this, perhaps having an epiphany,   realised that Kashyap’s next move would be to play victim:


And that is EXACTLY what happened. A good 12 hours after his one and only tweet condemning these unnamed people who bullied Wasim, Anurag Kashyap took out the victim card, and once again, tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi as if he was personally overseeing the entire social media outrage against Kashyap:


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Once again Kashyap was trolled by social media users for his bizarre outburst:


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It is interesting to note that the issue started because Radical Islamic Jihadis silenced a 16-year-old Kashmiri Muslim actress, and Anurag Kashyap managed to bring the entire issue at the doorstep of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also, Kashyap’s limits of bravado get revealed here: When asked pointedly by social media users to slam Radical Islamic Jihadi elements by naming them, Kashyap shies away from naming them. Suddenly the brave face of Bollywood is short of courage and cannot even type out three simple words. Further, even his condemnation of this unnamed lot is not unequivocal but he has to equate a tax paying professionally educated Indian, with terrorists, and only then can he condemn “them”.

But this same bravado mixed with a sense of idiocy returns when he has to randomly blame a social media reaction on the Prime Minister of India. The fear he felt in naming Islamic fundamentalists disappears, and he bravely tags the Prime Minister and holds him responsible for something he wouldn’t even know about. If Kashyap believes all trolls are directed by Modi, he should surely have no difficulty in believing that all Jihadi Radical Islamists are directed by Hafiz Saeed and ISI, but one could not see a single tweet from Kashyap tagging Saeed or ISI or any such organisation.

So consumed was Kashyap in his hatred for a man and his supporters, that he even wished one user would have died:


If the same comment was used by a “troll”, mainstream media would have been up in arms over a “threat” issued to a Bollywood star. In the end, Kashyap seems to have embarrassed himself and Bollywood once again.

Is this the reason why Dangal star Zaira Wasim apologised in a Facebook post?

OpIndia Staff
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Is this the reason why Dangal star Zaira Wasim apologised in a Facebook post?

Her character won hearts and medals in Dangal. Dangal’s Geeta Phogat, played by Kashmiri actor Zaira Wasim, wrestled against her sister, male wrestlers, decades of patriarchy & misogyny to emerge triumphant. Wasim too faced her fair share of trials and tribulations. A Facebook user had last month suggested that Wasim was being targeted by a regressive group called “Fakhr-e-Kashmir”and some people from the “Koshur community”  for acting in a “polluted” medium and acting against “religious norms” and bringing shame and disgrace to entire Koshur community.

That storm had passed, but now it seems Wasim is caught in another storm. Wasim, in Facebook post (edit: Wasim seems to have now deleted the Facebook post), offered an apology to all the people who had been “offended and displeased” by her “recent actions” or by “the people she has recently met.”:

She has not explicitly stated anything but it appears that she is alluding to her recent meeting with Jammu & Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti on 14th January 2017. While it is normal for any actor to meet the CM of her state, we must remember this is Kashmir. Sachnews Jammu Kashmir a major news network in J & K reported about this meeting on Facebook, and some of the comments do not show a pretty picture:

It appears that after Mohammad Shami’s wife, another female muslim in the public gaze has been caught in the abusive posts of radical Islamic bigots, who will no doubt be branded as “trolls” by mainstream media. The comments targeted Zaira for being a poor role model by doing un-Islamic acts like acting in movies. But since this is Kashmir, there were more angles to this event besides the now usual religious bigotry.

While Zaira was being attacked religious fanatics, J & K CM Mufti too was being attacked for different reasons:

And caught in the cross-fire was Zaira too, as hate directed towards Mufti spilt over to her as well:

The above extremely vile and hateful comments towards both Mufti and Zaira Wasim were seen on a Facebook page named “Mazloom Koshur”. While Mufti being a seasoned politician may have become immune to such filth, it was too much to bear for Wasim, who is just of 16 years old. This probably explains why Wasim virtually broke-down in her apology letter.

Did she claim that she should not be considered a role model and in that she wasn’t proud of what she was doing, because of the above comments?:

The first and foremost thing is that I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri Youth. I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my foot steps or even consider me as a role model. I’m not proud of what I’m doing and I want everyone, especially the Youth to know that there are real role models out there whether they be in this time or in our history. To even consider me as a role model would be disgracing them and their disgrace would be OUR DISGRACE!

Further, her statement that the real role models for Kashmiri Youth are “out there whether they be in this time or in our history”  is rather cryptic. We only hope she is not alluding to the separatist jihadi terrorists who are “out there”, whether alive (in this time) or dead (in our history).

All in all, it is indeed a troublesome to see a young muslim woman female actor from Kashmir get so much hate for just doing a job. Recently, there were some in Bollywood like Anurag Kashyap who had asked Bollywood to stand up for those who speak up. We wonder if anyone from Bollywood will stand up for this young girl and her right to practise here profession.

At the same time, one cant help but notice the irony in which, on one side a female muslim actor is being harassed by radical Islamists, and on the other side, this same actor seems to be alluding to being sympathetic to the cause of Jihadi militants, who are also indoctrinated based on the principles of radical Islam. Ironic, but not surprising since we must remember that Zaira Wasim is finally only a 16 year old who hasn’t developed a complete world-view, hence the inherent contradictions in her supposed positions.

Barkha Dutt quits NDTV and people wonder why

Hemant Bijapurkar
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Barkha Dutt quits NDTV and people wonder why

Yesterday news broke of controversial journalist Barkha Dutt resigning from NDTV after spending 21 years there. According to the official statement from NDTV,  she had requested that she would like to explore some new opportunities, pursue other interests and work on her own ventures. One might wonder as to does she dream of mirroring Arnab Goswami, who too quit recently in order to start his own Republic.

The NDTV statement also showered praise on Barkha Dutt, by calling her hugely productive, who has grown with the organisation, becoming an acclaimed, award-winning ‘journalist’ of repute across India and many parts of the world.

So just as the news broke, Social Media was set aflame with speculations and possibly rumours.

We wrote last week about Hindustan Times shutting down some of its city editions and its business bureau, thereby speculating about the possible financial crisis which might be hitting Indian media especially print in the near future. Many linked this possible crisis chiefly due to ebbing revenues and readership:


So assuming these are true, 5 NDTV bureaus have been shut and more would after the elections. Plus 38 cameramen were shown the door as part of their possible cost-cutting. Also it has long been reported that the NDTV’s financial health is anything but stable. As reported in this Hoot article from March 2016, NDTV’s TV business was already in a crisis with business slowdown resulting in 5 years of continued losses.

NDTV’s revenue as reported in The Hoot

The situation hasn’t improved after its loss in the 1st quarter of 2017 widened to 38 crores as compared to 24 crores in the same quarter last year.

So was Barkha’s exit more out of compulsion than choice? Unconfirmed reports speculate that she was paid as much as Rs 3.6 crores per year, an amount NDTV probably can do without in view of their losses.

Apart from this conspiracy theory, many people made light of her resignation from NDTV.

Are there openings?


Hmm, that gives a lot of time to line up investors:


It might not happen after this transpired.


So whether it was due to financial reasons or if she wishes to start a new venture or even if she decides to become a teacher in a poor headmaster’s school, we at OpIndia wish her all the best for future.

Did Yogeshwar Dutt take ‘dowry’ as claimed by the media?

OpIndia Staff
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Did Yogeshwar Dutt take ‘dowry’ as claimed by the media?

Dowry is not only considered a social evil in India, it also comes under the ambit of law as a crime. There is Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to stop this social evil and the action is punishable under the Indian Penal Code as well.

However, earlier today, the Times of India carried a news titled “Yogeshwar Dutt floors all with Re 1 dowry“:

Times of India labels “Shagun” as “Dowry”

The first reaction of a reader would be – good that just one rupee, but why dowry at all? Isn’t dowry banned? Will Yogeshwar Dutt not be in trouble due to this? After all, whether one rupee or one crore rupees, dowry still is prohibited and can’t be practiced, definitely not promoted as an act of winning hearts.

Although Yogeshwar Dutt has not clarified (he must be busy with the wedding), it appears that the “dowry” part is a sensationalism added by the TOI. In the report, the ace wrestler said that his family struggled to collect dowry for the girls of the family and therefore he decided not to take dowry in life.

His family accepted a Re 1 coin as ‘shagun’ (good omen) from the girl’s family. He denied any other form of gift from his in-laws.

Even in legal terms, ‘shagun’ and dowry are different.

The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 article 3 specifies that the penalty for giving or taking dowry does not apply to presents which are given at the time of a marriage to the bride or bridegroom, when no demand for them have been made.

Sadly, usage of the word dowry to sensationalise the news risks spoiling the brilliant example set by Dutt. The same term is now being repeated by other media organisations that are republishing what TOI published.

Navjot Singh Sidhu joins Congress and becomes instant target of jokes on Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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Navjot Singh Sidhu joins Congress and becomes instant target of jokes on Twitter

Ending months of speculation, Former BJP MP and star campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu finally made up his mind on his political future after dabbling with all sorts of ideas such as a fourth front and even joining Kejriwal. Sidhu followed his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu (who had joined Congress in Novemeber 2016) and joined Congress today after a meeting with Rahul Gandhi.


The photo-op though threw up a golden chance for many social media humourists to troll Sidhu and they did not disappoint:


And an exclusive video too!


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With less than a month to go for the elections, Sidhu’s entry in to the Congress may seem late to many. Further, it is not clear what sort of understanding has been agreed upon and whether Sidhu has been promised any post if the party comes to power. Capt Amarinder Singh though had last week claimed that Sidhu would join Congress unconditionally. Meanwhile, social media seems to be enjoying the “Oh Guru” moment.

The dishonesty of ‘journalist’ Saba Naqvi

Gaurav
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The dishonesty of ‘journalist’ Saba Naqvi

Reporter and columnist Saba Naqvi seems to have gone off the journalistic radar recently, but today she wrote a piece in The Tribune titled “Confessions of a journalist in Goa” that was shared by Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter, bringing some focus back on her.

The title itself is dishonest since although it says the post is about Goa, the post is actually exclusively about AAP in Goa, probably because she was appointed by Delhi’s AAP Government on the Governing board of the Kamala Nehru College, soon after she wrote a hagiography of the messiah of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. Thus, the title is even more deceptive since she is no longer a “journalist” but a co-opted hack.

Naqvi claims she was on a “vacation” in Goa, but as you realise later in the article, on this vacation, she manages to visit AAP rallies, spend time at AAP’s election office, and also interact with AAP  volunteers, based on which she writes her piece. Some vacation this, and it would be interesting to note whether this “vacation” was self-financed or “sponsored”.

She goes on to say that at a rally, she sees local AAP leaders “had lovely names like Karl Vaz (not Marx I joked) and Elvis Gomes (not Presley) and Olencio“.  Without going into the reasons as to why these three names were so “lovely”, if only “journalist” Naqvi had dug deeper into these very names, she may have had different opinions:

The first name: Karl Vaz, is a multi-millionaire owning several luxury cars, among other assets. He is an ex-Congress MLA, son of another ex-MLA and recently made his way into AAP. So much for “aam aadmi” brand of politics.

The second name: Elvis Gomes as we all know is embroiled in a land scam along with a NCP minister, a case which was registered against him before he joined politics.

The third name: Olencio Simoes is the nephew of sitting BJP Minister in the Goa Government, Alina Saldanha. He was formerly active in BJP and had unsuccessfully contested the Zilla Parishad elections on a BJP ticket. Perhaps his name wouldn’t have been lovely enough if he was in BJP.

She then says, she visited the office of AAP, and asked them about the costs incurred in running the Goa campaign and how were they surviving. The reply from the Ashish Talwar, AAP’s political adviser was apparently that AAP was “managing on the goodwill of local supporters and the faith of some volunteers”.

Did literally lakhs of hoardings, flex banners, repeated radio and TV jingles, get “funded” by “goodwill of local supporters”? If only Naqvi had chosen to be a real journalist and probed a bit further, but alas.

Then Naqvi talked about the volunteers. She claimed that two AAP volunteers suggested she visit a slum and that the AAP volunteer who took her there was a boy named Apoorva who had camped in Goa from September to campaign for AAP Goa.

A smarter person or even a real journalist would have noticed the irony here: Talwar just claimed that AAP’s campaign in Goa depended on the “goodwill of local supporters” but the volunteer who took Naqvi to the slums was in fact a non-local, much like a huge number of AAP volunteers in Goa who have been imported from other states, probably to make up for the shortage of people ready to volunteer for AAP in Goa:

By now, most Goans know that the chances that an AAP volunteer in Goa is a real local Goan, are very low, since AAP has been getting a steady inflow of volunteers from all across India. So much for  “goodwill of local supporters”.

In conclusion, some tips for this alleged journalist:

Next time, disclose your conflict of interests openly: That you are an AAP appointee and thus have benefited from the AAP Delhi Government.

Also, instead of forming opinions based on party workers, meet some regular people and ask them for the pulse of the state. They are more likely to be honest.

This Times Now journalist is waiting for Narendra Modi to get assassinated?

OpIndia Staff
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This Times Now journalist is waiting for Narendra Modi to get assassinated?

Twitter has exposed the mainstream media in more than one way. Journalists joined this public platform and many ended up betraying their lack of neutrality, lack of knowledge, lack of logic, lack of tolerance, and lack of civility.

Now some journalists are taking this bar “higher” – one of them has gone ahead and worded a tweet in a way that sounds as if he was waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be assassinated.

The journalist is named Prashant Kumar and works with the 24-hours English news channel Times Now. He posted his controversial tweet on Friday in the context of PM Modi appearing on Khadi Village Industries Commission’s (KVIC) calendar and diary. Narendra Modi can be seen operating a charkha the way Mahatma Gandhi used to do.

This was turned into “Mahatma Gandhi missing” controversy by many. KVIC later clarified that there were many occasions, including under the Congress regime, when there were no pictures of Mahatma Gandhi on the cover, but that didn’t stop the criticism that “Modi was trying to replace Gandhi”.

This context was used by the Times Now journalist to ask that if Modi had become the new Gandhi, how soon a new Godse – the person who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi – would come:

The tweet shocked many people on Twitter, who read this tweet as a wish to see PM Modi killed by an assassin:


This tweet reminded many of the incident when Monisha Rajesh, a columnist associated with The Guardian and The Telegraph, had wished for assassination of Donald Trump in November last. Both the publications had distanced themselves from the columnist’s tweet, with The Telegraph further announcing that they will not employ Monisha’s services consequently.

The outrage had forced Monisha to delete her twitter account, but the Times Now journalist Prashant Kumar has not deleted even his tweet. Even Times Now has not issued any statement over this behaviour by their employee on a public platform.

A look at the timeline of Prashant Kumar’s Twitter account confirms that the journalist is anti-Modi and has sent abusive tweets about the Prime Minister earlier too, such as:


While the freedom of expression gives Prashant the right to write whatever he feels including anti-Modi tweets, many people thought that he crossed a line when he indirectly wished for assassination of the Prime Minister of India. Such a strong hate for Narendra Modi also raises a question over the objectivity and truthfulness of reports filed by such journalists.

UPDATE: The journalist has deleted his tweet and tendered an apology, however, alert users on Twitter pointed out that his apology was not sincere:

Ok Jaanu is a romantic story which you will love to watch

Dhaval Patel
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Ok Jaanu is a romantic story which you will love to watch

After a disastrous and forgettable Kadal, Mani Ratnam, like an ageing boxer delivered Ok Kanmani, which seemed to be his knockout punch. The movie, albeit not a classic, was a fresh one which made millennial love look like an easy breeze of romance. Ok Jaanu, is the official remake of the Tamil version and Shaad Ali’s directorial delivers a heartwarming winsome romance which will surely leave the viewers with a smile on their face

The movie is a bracing take on modern day romance and relationship between two well-educated, independent and ambitious individuals Tara (Shraddha Kapoor) and Aditya (Aditya Roy Kapur). Aditya is a happy go lucky video game developer who wants to live the American dream and Tara is an architect who has her eyes set on Paris. They are both non-committal and have ambitions to succeed. It’s when that the two meet, plans go haywire and they decide to date each other as long as they are in Mumbai. They decide to move in and they convince an elderly couple Gopi (Naseeruddin Shah) and Charulata (Leela Samson) to rent out their abode to them and let their modern day conceptual love of no strings attached blossom. Gopi is a strict but an affectionate landlord who treats Aditya and Tara as his own children while tasking care of his Alzheimer ridden wife Charulata.

The film then starts exploring, in a light-hearted way, the stance of modern India about commitment issues and the all-compromising life-event called marriage. Add to it the spirit of Mumbai, which permeates the film throughout. Aditya and Tara agree that the concept of marriage and babies are not for them and would not want to explore such horizons. But as time would have it, they grow fond of each other and are in love and then confused. The movie does not make the couple go through trying situations and that is where we realize that all love stories do not need the bed rock of tragedy. It’s easy and simple and thus it strikes a chord.

Aditya and Shraddha’s chemistry as the lead couple is peppy and vibrant and the locations are picturesque. We have adored their chemistry in Ashiqui and Ok Jaanu makes us feel no different. Shraddha has progressed as an actor and Aditya’s easy going real life nature eases into the tailor made reel role. Naseeruddin is a veteran and his presence provides that gravity to keep the movie grounded and preventing it from becoming all perky and frolicked. Somewhere the performances would make you want to fall in love again.

The movie, in a subtle way juxtaposed 2 couples: one, young, who are ambitious and have escaped their conservative prism while another, an elderly couple, who are happy to have preserved their conservative values and are yet in love in the backdrop of a cultural melting pot like Mumbai. Ok Jaanu has the theme of new ideas trying to transform the old and vice versa. The story seems to suggest that the institution of marriage is not all that flawed, but the basic premise of freedom, ambitions and privacy should be respected. It is all acceptable as long as compromises are left at bay.

If you have watched Ok Kanmani, Ok Jaanu might seem to be a dash of old wine. There seems to be a scene by scene translation from its Tamil counterpart, but nothing has been lost in translation. The charisma and the zest seems to be intact and will surely give a warm heart on your way out of the theatre.

From the business perspective, Ok Jaanu being a millennial story will appeal niche audiences across metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata etc. The movie faces box office competition from XXX Return of the Xander Cage on its opening weekend. Ok Jaanu has recorded 25% openings in its morning shows as on 13-Jan. In the south, where its predecessor Ok Kanmani did pretty well, Ok Jaanu faces some heat from the Chiranjeevi starrer Khaidi no 150.

– by Dhaval Patel & Aditya Soumava

Not Rohith Vemula – no tears for ABVP student who committed suicide in Karnataka

OpIndia Staff
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Not Rohith Vemula – no tears for ABVP student who committed suicide in Karnataka

Two groups of students clash, the administration is accused of being biased, one group is awarded punishment, one student commits suicide – this is repeat of the Rohith Vemula incident.

But the crucial difference is – the student who died this time is from a group that doesn’t find favour with the mainstream media or bleeding heart liberals.

Which is why his death is not making national headlines and activists are not changing their display pictures on the social networks. This is the story of 21 years old Abhishek, who committed suicide on Tuesday night in Sringeri, Karnataka.

Abhishek
Abhishek, the ABVP member who committed suicide after police filed an FIR against him.

A member of the RSS affiliated student organisation ABVP, Abhishek ended his life as he feared that an FIR filed against him could ruin his career and prospects of getting a job and leading a normal life.

The FIR was filed after members of ABVP and NSUI (Congress affiliated student organisation) allegedly clashed with each other over an invite to a speaker for a campus event called Yodha Namana (salute to soldiers) on Saturday. The speaker was termed “communal” by the NSUI students, who protested against the invitation.

Following the protests by NSUI, the college – JCBM College – administration cancelled the invite. This is eerily similar to what happened a couple of days back at JNU where leftist students forced the university to cancel invite to a speaker.

This cancellation led to an alleged fight between ABVP and NSUI members on Monday. The NSUI president complained to the police, after which an FIR was filed on Tuesday against five students, including Abhishek who was a final year B.Com student.

“This left Abhishek totally shaken and upset. In the death note, he has asked forgiveness from his father and said that he was being blamed for no fault of his. If he was actually involved in the assault, he would not have resorted to the extreme step. Since his name was included in the FIR, he felt that his future was at stake,” an official is quoted saying by the Bangalore Mirror.

There is Congress government in Karnataka and an FIR filed against students following complaint by a Congress affiliated organisation is being seen as a case of partiality and high handedness. According to this report in The Hindu, none of the accused students were summoned or enquired related to the complaint. Yet an FIR was filed, which can prove to be terrorising enough for a young student.

And that’s what happened to Abhishek, who feared that the police case will ruin his career and he will be branded a criminal for rest of his life. On Tuesday– the same day when FIR was fired – he ended his life around 11 pm.

Abhishek’s father is distraught and is holding the college principal and management responsible for his son’s death. To get justice, he has filed a complaint against NSUI president and others, accusing them of filing a false complaint against Abhishek.

ABVP too is protesting to get justice, but this news has barely made big headlines even in Karnataka. There are no debates on prime time news and neither are there any op-eds. This is in sharp contrast to the anger and outrage that the nation witnessed when Rohit Vemula had committed suicide.

A young Abhishek’s life doesn’t matter? Or those who follow a particular ideology deserve to die in the eyes of those who call themselves “liberal”? No need for #JusticeForAbhishek?

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