Author: Rajeev R Roy
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 8, 2004
For Left outfits, Communist camaraderie
comes before the interest of the nation. If a resolution, which was defeated
in the students' council of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, is anything
to go by, the Communists of the world must unite. Unbelievable as it may
sound, at the first council meeting of JNU Students Union (JNUSU), Left
outfits voted against a resolution condemning China for repeatedly showing
Arunanchal Pradesh as not being a part of India.
The resolution had been brought
by Zinniah and Manoj, councillors of the National Students Union of India
(NSUI), the student wing of the Congress. The resolution was defeated by
11 votes, as most of the councillors from Left outfits, namely, Students
Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students Federation (AISF) voted
against the resolution.
The one line resolution reads: "The
council condemns the Republic of China for continuing to show Arunachal
Pradesh as part of its territory." In all, the council discussed 33 items
on its agenda. The resolution on Arunachal Pradesh was the eighth item
on the list. "Instead of taking a strong note of China's inconsistent policy
towards Arunachal Pradesh, SFI and AISF showed a softness as if Arunachal
Pradesh is not a part of India," Madhumita Chakraborty, JNU unit NSUI president,
said.
"SFI, AISF and AISA representatives
voted against the motion, thereby verifying that they actually support
the Chinese claim of Arunachal Pradesh being a part of Chinese territory.
Their voting against the motion is a betrayal of the very Constitution
of our country and has exposed the anti-national character of the Left,"
she added.
SFI is the student wing of the Communist
Party of India (Marxist), a major constituent of the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA), AISF is affiliated to the Communist Party of India (CPI),
another Left constituent of the UPA, while the All India Students Association
(AISA) is the student outfit of CPI-Marxist and Leninist. AISA's Mona Das
heads the JNUSU.
"Arunachal Pradesh is very much
a part of Indian territory, and the people of Arunachal Pradesh have affirmed
the pan-Indian character of the Congress by giving it a positive mandate
in the recently held Assembly elections in the State, rejecting all separatist
and isolationist forces," Ms Madhumita Chakraborty added.
Taking strong note of the SFI-AISF-AISA's
stand on Arunachal Pradesh, NSUI president said: "People know the Left's
history of betrayals. NSUI will not tolerate even an inch of Indian land
being claimed by our neighbouring countries, while striving all the time
for better relations with them, a fact highlighted by Dr Manmohan Singh's
recent participation in the ASEAN summit."
"Who can forget the stand of the
Left in the 1962 war with China, when they openly supported the Chinese
aggression by stating that the war was over a piece of land that India
claims to be India's and China claims to be China's. Left outfits owe an
explanation to the whole nation for such a blatant anti-national stand,"
Ms Chakraborty added. The Left resolution, which was passed by the majority,
stated: "The council urges the Governments of India and People's Republic
of China to speed up the talks between the two countries on various issues
including the border talks.
This council believes that both
the countries need to respect the sovereignty and integrity of each other
and all kinds of xenophobic opinion on both sides need to be isolated."
