There is a sense of calm at the Brahmaputra Hostel in the JNU campus where JNUSU president Kanhiaya Kumar lives. Everyone from the owner of a 31-year-old tea shop in the premises, to his hostel mates await his homecoming.
Hariram Yadav, owner of the tea shop, who has seen Kanhaiya from the day he came to stay in the hostel, recalls, “I have seen Kanhiaya and his friends for a very long time now. They are a very friendly and peace-loving lot. I have never seen them engage in any kind of fight. I never believed that Kanhaiya could be called anti-national ever.”
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A security guard at the hostel adds, “All the boys are just waiting for their friend to come back. He is surely getting a hero's welcome.”
Posters that read ‘Welcome back Kanhaiya’ quoting Karl Marx – “We have nothing to lose but our chains, we have a world to win” adorned the walls of the hostel.
Nestled around 2 km away from the usual centre of action, the administration block and the Sabarmati hostel, this hostel wore a calm look.
“The day he was arrested was a shock to us. Kanhiaya is like a symbol of JNUSU for us,” a research a scholar living in the hostel said.
Kanhaiya is expected to return to the campus by evening after which the students plan to take out a victory march.
Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar also visited Kanhaiya's room in the hostel to review security arrangements.
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