08 November,2010 09:17 AM IST | | Vatsala Shrangi
JNU students liken US President to head of British Raj panel
Unfazed by the enthusiasm around the visit of US President Barack Obama, the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University are planning to show black flags to the US first couple. Student outfits at the university have joined hands to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi on Monday. Scholars affiliated to the All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI) likened Obama's first India visit with that of Simon Commissions' in 1927.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's cavalcade at Palam Airforce Station
"Obama is yet to mention the Bhopal Tragedy or the Headley case. This is not how things should be done. I am shocked at the response of the leaders of our country. Why do they need to bow down to America and be so happy about it? " said Vismay Basu, vice- president AISA.
The protest against the US President's visit is called and backed by All-India Left Coordination (AILC), which comprises of four Leftist organisations -- CPI (ML) (Liberation), CPM Punjab, Lal Nishan Party (Leninist) Maharashtra, and Left Coordination Committee, Kerala. The protest is aimed at strengthening the Left movement in the country.
"The promises that he has made and hopes that 44th US President evoked have faded. He should not be welcomed in the country. There is so much noise and excitement over his visit, but people are silent over wrongdoings of America," said Apoorva, an SFI member.
"Obama is all about eloquence. Don't we have anything left to discuss except the US President? Instead of going into the details of the colour of his helicopter, our politicians can rather talk about more serious issues," said Barin Ghosh, a history student and member of AISA.
| What simon did |
| The British government appointed seven MPs, including Chairman Sir John Simon to constitute the commission that had been promised in 1919 that would look into the state of Indian constitutional affairs. The people of the Indian subcontinent were outraged and insulted, as the Simon Commission, which was to determine the future of India, did not include a single Indian member in it. The Indian National Congress, at its December 1927 meeting in Madras (now Chennai), resolved to boycott the Commission. On October 30, 1928, the Simon Commission arrived in Lahore where, as with the rest of the country, its arrival was met with massive amounts of protestors. The Lahore protest was led by Indian nationalist Lala Lajpat Rai, who had moved a resolution against the Commission in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab in February 1928. In order to make way for the Commission, the local police force began beating protestors with their lathis (sticks). Lala Lajpat Rai succumbed to his injuries later that day. |
