On a day when Jawaharlal Nehru University Student President (JNUSU) Kanhaiya Kumar’s bail plea was adjourned till February 29, art students from Shantiniketan and Patna painted the walls of his native home at Masnadpur in Begusarai with his picture saying “save JNU Save India” and slogans demanding ‘azadi’ (freedom) from feudalism, capitalism, and Brahmanism.
The villagers had assembled at the house since morning but returned disappointed when the court deferred the bail plea.
Kanhaiya’s old parents and his younger brother Prince are staying at the village home while elder brother Manikant and his uncle are camping in Delhi to extend their support to him.
“The Prime Minister would know our pain if he tries to look at it from our point of view…but, we’ve full faith in our son and the judiciary,” Meena Devi, Kanhaiya’s mother told The Hindu on the phone. Meanwhile, the art students visited Kanhaiya’s home and painted the walls with graffiti and slogans. In one of the graffiti Birchandra Kumar has made a large size crocodile wriggling towards protesting JNU students with its mouth open and the caption in capitals reads: “Save JNU Save India.” In another graffiti Kanhaiya Kumar is shown addressing students in the campus carrying red flags and “Red Star” written in bold fonts. Similarly, Birchandra Kumar’s friend Rakesh Kumar has written an azadi slogan in bold fonts on another wall.
Birchandra Kumar himself had painted his body red to symbolise protest against the government.
The students also displayed their art of protest at other places in the area. Writer-activist Pushp Raj explained its meaning to the common people.
