The right to invite!

Indian Prime Minister has been under scrutiny by both the opposition parties and the media. They have been overactive in keeping a tab at him, waiting for him and his party to do something wrong and pounce upon him.

While doing so media and opposition both have deviated from their real responsibility. Media now has grabbed another issue out of nowhere and has set the ball rolling for yet another debate. The prime time at various channels in India is now being utilized on an issue that could have settled in an easier manner, but it was not to be. Prime Minister Modi gets an invite from Jamia Millia Islmaia to be the chief guest at the annual convocation. Even before Prime Minister Modi could respond to the invite due to his international engagements, the invite triggered a strong reaction.

The alumni of the university has assumed a greater role for itself, as certain members  of the alumni have written to the Vice Chancellor urging him to “withdraw” the invite in view of the comments made by Prime Minister Modi against the University in 2008.

Those trying to put pressure on the Vice Chancellor are some fifty odd students and taking a lead from them more than fifty channels in India have joined the bandwagon to earn some points on the TRP scale.  Can the desire of some 50 odd old students be considered the voice of the alumni? Can we take their statement, “We, the ex-students of Jamia, are writing to you to express our deep anguish and grief on your invitation to Narendra Modi to be the chief guest at annual convocation? We are anguished and shocked because, he along with his party members, have been constantly involved in spreading rumours and hatred about the university,” as a voice more of dissent than that of protest.

The statement by alumni only shows the kind of faith they have in their Alma matter. Assuming that the vice chancellor is not the one to take the final call on extending an invitation to a chief guest, is to underestimate the rights of the vice chancellor. By asking the Vice Chancellor to ask Prime Minister Modi to apologise, “We have a very simple request to you, withdraw the invitation or at least ask him to render a public apology about his own malicious and incorrect statement before he attends the convocation,” a section of the alumni is trying to play to the galleries.

The issue being raked now dates back to year 2008, when after the infamous Batla House encounter, Narendra Modi then as the Chief Minister of Gujarat had taken the Jamia Millia Islamia head on. Modi had then reminded the university in strong words that it was being run on the government money as then Vice Chancellor Mushirul Hasan had stated that university would offer legal aid to two of its students arrested for their suspected involvement in terror activities. Modi had then said, “It has publicly announced that it will foot the legal fee of terrorists involved in act. Go drown yourself. This Jamia Millia is being run on government money and it is daring to spend money on lawyers to get terrorists out of jail. When will this vote bank politics end?”

The alumni need to be reminded that an invite has been extended to none other than the duly elected Prime Minister of the country and if anyone has the right to accept or decline it’s none other than Modi. Prime Minister Modi has been invited for being a constitutional authority who has also been elected by the people of India and withdrawing the invite would amount to showing disrespect to all those who elected him. The authorities in Jamia Millia Islamia will have to decide whether it would like the university to be run on the mercy of the students and certain ex-students. In a democratic setup like India a group of ex students are free to express their views, but to demand an apology and to expect the Prime Minister to not to attend the convocation and thus deprive the outgoing students the privilege of receiving their degrees from the Prime Minister is an irrational demand and a leader like Prime Minister Modi should not be expected to buckle down to these demands.