(Photo) Courtesy : Telegraph India
New Delhi, 13 August– Interesting dimensions have emerged on the continuing protests in Jharkhand as it became knows that workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindutva groups are prominent among those who are feeding the protesting students in Jharkhand, which has a non-BJP government, in stark contrast to the agitation in Jantar Mantar.
This possibly explains the obduracy of the protesting students who have been unrelenting on the issue of investigation of corruption in the examination system in the state. While the State government has been willing to probe the issue through its own agencies, the student leaders have been insisting on the CBI.
According to a news report in The Telegraph, Bhairav Singh, an RSS swayamsevak, said that his team has been serving food to the agitating students since July 29 when the protest began in Ranchi. He said his group, Team Bhairav, provides free food to hundreds of students twice a day, once in the afternoon and once at night.
“We support these students by serving them food. These are our children, and they are fighting for their legitimate rights. Most come from middle-class and lower-middle-class families. They are fighting not only for themselves but also for future generations,” Singh said.
“When I see these students fighting against a corrupt system that snatches away their rights, it pains me. However, serving them food brings a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that we are helping these children to the best of our ability. We provide food to over 1,000 students daily and will continue as long as they remain here with their demands,” Singh said.
Around 50 members of his team come to serve these students.
The most admirable aspect of the protest, Singh said, is that even though their rights have been denied for decades they are not abusing anyone. “They are neither raising anti-government nor anti-national slogans; they are simply standing firm on the demand that their concerns be addressed,” another member of Team Bhairav said.
They insisted that the protests in Jantar Mantar and Ranchi were worlds apart.
Another team from the Hindu Jagrit Manch also arrives daily at the protest site with food for students.
Rishi Sahdev, a member of the Manch, told PTI that they have been providing food to the students for the past 12 days. Only August 10 was a day of disappointment, when many students did not eat after the police lathicharge during a march to the Assembly, he said. On that day, the students were deeply dejected.
“Our team has 10 to 12 members, and we are very happy to serve these children. They are fighting for genuine issues. When we ourselves were students, we too had little money. These children are in the same phase of life, so supporting them is our dharma,” Sahdev said.
Another team led by Ravi Singh Choudhary, an engineer who writes on Hindu themes, has been distributing food among the students for the past two weeks.
A team member who was serving food said: “When this protest started at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium on July 29, these people began providing their service from that very day. On Wednesday night we served ‘puri, bundiya and chane ki sabzi’. Whatever service they can provide, they are doing so with the support of Ravi Singh Choudhary.”
The students’ protest over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations entered its 20th day on Thursday, with the agitators refusing to call off the stir until all of their demands are met.
Mohammad Junaid Malik, who had distributed free food and drinking water to protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and allegedly faced police action for it, reached Jharkhand on August 7 and is also serving meals to the students at the protest site.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
