On November 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating a life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Taking to announce the same, the politically volatile university’s Vice-Chancellor said that there would first be an event dedicated to the great Hindu monk, which will be followed by the Prime Minister inaugurating the statue. The statue, which has been marred in controversies for the past two years, has been installed with the help of JNU alumni.
It must be remembered that in 2019, prior to the inauguration of the Swami’s statue, political goons of the university belonging to the far-Left and anti-India fronts had vandalised and defaced it. ‘F*ck BJP,’ ‘Bhagwajalega’ were some of the slurs used by a section of JNU students to deface the statue. In 2018, the executive council of the university had decided to install Swami Vivekananda’s statue in the admin block across Nehru’s statue. Back then, JNU Students Union (JNUSU) and JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) went in for an all-out attack against the ‘saffronisation’ of JNU campus and questioned the funding source at that time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi now stepping in and inaugurating the statue of Swami Vivekananda himself will send shivers down the spines of anti-Hindu and anti-India elements of the university.
“Swami Vivekananda is one of the most beloved intellectuals and spiritual leaders India has been fortunate to produce. He enthused the youth with his message of freedom, development, harmony and peace in India. The statue of Swami Vivekananda has been installed in the university campus with the support of JNU alumni,” JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said while speaking on the Prime Minister’s presence for the important event.
In the context of the current statue being inaugurated, former JNUSU president N Sai Balaji said, “Even at a time where there is an immense fund crunch, the university has decided to divert its funds to construct statues. It is yet to disburse a lot of fellowship money and must be making arrangements to bring students back to campus.” An RTI application was also filed by Balaji, who asked about the cost of this construction. Meanwhile, Left-wing students have also questioned the “source of funds” for the building of the statue.
Needless to say, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by inaugurating Swami Vivekananda’s statue at JNU which has been marred in controversies for the past two years, will send a resounding message to all anti-India elements. It will be interesting to see if the Prime Minister speaks after the inauguration of the statue. If he does, it goes without saying that he will take Swami Vivekananda’s detractors to the cleaners seamlessly, who will not be able to show their faces at the JNU campus for quite a long time.