PM Modi unveils Swami Vivekanand’s statue in JNU

Fearing loss of face and relevance, Leftist students oppose the unveiling

New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a life-size statue of Swami Vivekanand at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on 12^th November through video conference. Prime Minister Modi’s unveiling of the goldenhued statue on the ‘red’ JNU campus was, of course, widely reported.

Prime Minister Modi began by saying that the purpose of the statue was to inspire ‘a vision of divinity’. He wanted JNU students to imbibe courage and compassion from
Swami Vivekanand, in addition to ideas of service to the Nation and love for humanity. In the darkest hour of despair and hopelessness, Swami Vivekanand had roused a sleeping Nation. Similarly, Prime Minister Modi wanted today’s young men and women, who he called the brand ambassadors of the new India, to rise to the occasion.

The statue, literally under wraps for months, was seen as a prominent symbol of
change in the JNU campus. In a campaign by Leftist students against it, the statue
was vandalised a couple of times. An FIR was filed against unknown perpetrators. In
protesting against the statue, the Left has only scored another self-goal.

The Left’s ideological intolerance, dictatorial campus politics, and its diversionary
tactics are well-known. The allegations that University funds were used for the statue
were false. Former JNU student and current faculty member of Delhi University, Prof.
Manoj Kumar, played an important role in raising the funds from private sources.