Chandrashekhar Prasad

Chandrashekar Prasad (20 September 1964 – 31 March 1997),[1] popularly known as Chandu[2] and Comrade Chandrashekhar[3] was a student leader and later an activist affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation.[4] He graduated from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, and served as the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union for two terms.[1][5] Prasad played a key role in the development of All India Students Association.[5]

Chandrashekhar Prasad
Born(1964-09-20)20 September 1964
Siwan, Bihar, India
Died31 March 1997(1997-03-31) (aged 32)
Cause of deathAssassination
EducationSainik School, Tilaiya
Patna University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Occupation(s)Activist
Student
OrganizationAll India Students Association (AISA)
Political partyCommunist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
Parent
  • Kaushalya Devi (mother)

On 31 March 1997, he was assassinated by sharpshooters allegedly in the employ of Mohammad Shahabuddin of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, while addressing street corner meetings in the district town of Siwan, Bihar in support of a strike.[6] His assassination led to remarkable student protests across India.[5] In 2012, four people were convicted of his murder and life sentences were awarded to each of them; all the convicted were former members of the Janata Dal (later split into Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal).[7][8]

Early life and education

Chandrashekhar Prasad was born on 20 September 1964 in Siwan, Bihar in a Kushwaha or Koeri family.[9][10] His father was a sergeant in the Indian Air Force who died of a heart attack when he was 8 years old. His mother, Kaushalya Devi states that she only got ₹150 (equivalent to ₹5,800 or US$72 in 2023) as compensation for her husband's service to the forces but made sure her son was educated well.[11] Chandrashekhar completed his intermediate education at Sainik School in Jhumri Tilaiya. Following his schooling, he was selected for National Defence Academy training in Pune. He joined the program but left it after 2 years stating dissatisfaction.[1] He subsequently enrolled in Patna University and became involved in the All India Students Federation as an active member but became disillusioned with the federation some time afterwards. In 1990, he joined Jawaharlal Nehru University for a MPhil degree in English literature. He later started working on a PhD on Bihar's popular folk theater form Bidesia but was assassinated before he could complete it.[2]

Political activism

Chandrashekhar Prasad became associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation during the formation of the All India Students Association.[2] In an Aligarh town hall, he expressed his desire to bring a "revolution" for clean politics in India.[12] He is credited with almost single-handedly building up the All India Students Association during his stay in Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was elected to the body of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union as the vice president for one term and president for two terms. He is described to have played a key role in creating the foundations of labourers, students, women's and dalits rights movements among the students community. After completing his M.Phil., he decided to move back to his hometown of Siwan to start a movement there.[1]

Prasad was deputed as a youth leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation in Siwan. He began campaigning against corruption and alleged criminal leaders of the region. He is described to have made considerable inroads as a mass leader and posed a threat to the Janata Dal (later split into Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal), the ruling party in Bihar. After his death, Brij Bihari Pandey stated that Mohammad Shahabuddin, the Member of Parliament from the Siwan constituency was threatened by the activism of Chandrashekhar who was considered as a candidate from the constituency in the upcoming elections.[2][4]

Assassination

Prasad was addressing a nukkad sabha (corner meeting) on J.P Road in Siwan, Bihar on 31 March 1997 for organising a bandh (general strike) called in Bihar to protest against the mass murders and scandals that were rampant in the state. During the meeting, he was killed in a mass shooting along with another activist, Shyam Narayan Yadav and a hawker Bhutele Miyan.[1] Mohammad Shahabuddin who was a member of parliament and known as a strongman in the district,[13] was the prime accused for the shooting along with 5 other members of the Janata Dal (later split into Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal).[7]

Student protests

Following the assassination of Chandrashekhar Prasad, there were "unprecedented protests" by students across India.[5] In Delhi, students from the Jawaharlal Nehru University marched to the Bihar Niwas demanding a dialogue with the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav. In response, Sadhu Yadav, a leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal had allegedly ordered a mass shooting on the student protesters by the police.[1] The protests occurred in various university campuses across major institutions such as Banaras Hindu University, Jadavpur University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Lucknow among others; led by Kaushalya Devi, the mother of Chandrashekhar. Devi had been offered monetary compensation by the Government of Bihar which she had refused. The All India Students Association also demanded the arrest of Sadhu Yadav and capital punishment for Mohammad Shahabuddin. The student protests were able to pressurise Lalu Prasad Yadav into allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the case. The term goonda raj to refer to the criminalisation of politics in Bihar was coined during these protests.[14]

Investigation and trial

On 26 February 2012, following the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, a special court[11] convicted 3 of the accused, sentenced them to life imprisonment and fined each of them a sum of ₹40,000 (equivalent to ₹75,000 or US$940 in 2023). The general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya however expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and stated that the verdict was "disappointing inadequate" and that the courts had skirted the "political charecterisation of the murder" by ignoring the charges on Mohammad Shahabuddin,[15] the prime accused in the case. On 23 March 2012, a fourth accused was sentenced for life whose trial had run separately and a fifth accused had died during the course of the trials, therefore, no convictions were brought against him.[7] Following the trials, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation states that the CBI treated the crime like a case of random shooting instead of a political assassination. The party maintains the position that no justice was granted with the verdict where a young activist was killed by a sitting member of Parliament and only his hitmen were sentenced.[16]

Recognition

In 2010, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt initiated a project to create a biopic of Chandrashekhar Prasad titled Chandu. The announcement invoked controversy against any perceived sense of distortions of facts on the contemporary figure. The project however stated that the film will not indulge in any distortion of facts for commercial gains and will be produced as a documentary film. The documentary film maker Ajay Kanchan was employed as the director of the film. The actor Imran Zahid was cast to play the role of Chandrashekhar "Chandu" Prasad.[17] In 2013, the project was scrapped due to opposition to its production and concerns of potential legal hurdles as a result of the cases related to the assassination being sub judice at the time.[18] The project was revived in 2016 and is currently under production as a non-commercial documentary.[19]

In 2017, a memorial statue of Chandrashekhar Prasad was installed in Gopalganj More Chowk (which has been renamed to Chandrashekhar Chowk) in Siwan, Bihar. Kaushalya Devi, the mother of Chandrashekhar has also donated a piece of land near the memorial to the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation for the construction of a school and a library in his honor.[11]

See also

References
  1. Kant, Krishna (1 April 2017). "The Gun That Killed JNU's Chandrashekhar 20 Years Ago Was 'Secular'". The Wire (India). Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. Joshi, Rajesh (16 April 1997). "Red Island Erupts". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. "Interview: 'Shahabuddin is not alone when it comes to impunity enjoyed by the powerful'". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. "Before Kanhaiya Came 'Chandu': A JNU President Killed 19 Years Ago". The Quint. 14 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  5. Purkayastha, Parbina (10 September 2016). "After elections, JNU students to raise voice against RJD MP Shahabuddin's bail". India Today. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. "Three sentenced to life in Chandrasekhar murder case". The Hindu. 25 March 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. Karmakar, Debashish (10 May 2019). "Chandrashekhar murder case: Patna: HC upholds life imprisonment of four in former JNUSU president Chandrashekhar murder case | Patna News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. "JNU vandalised". Tribune India. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. "Biography of Chandrashekhar Prasad". CPI-ML. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  10. "JNU: Travails of A Dalit Comrade President". forward Press. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  11. "Betrayed by Revolution: "'The CPI (ML) hails Chandrashekhar as a martyr. But his aged mother feels her son's sacrifice was in vain". Tehelka. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  12. Rahmani, Hussain (18 February 2016). "Kanhaiya should not meet slain JNU student leader Chandrashekhar Prasad's fate". Rediff. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. "All you need to know about the dreaded 'Bahubali' Mohammad Shahabuddin". Business Standard India. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  14. Jha, Sanjay Kumar (15 May 1997). "Laloo Prasad Yadav finds himself under fire from students". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  15. "Three sentenced to life in Chandrasekhar murder case". The Hindu. 25 March 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020.
  16. "Who Is the Real Killer of Comrade Chandrashekhar?". Liberation - CPIML Archives. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  17. "Chandu won't distort facts for commercial gain: director - Indian Express". Indian Express. 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  18. "Film on JNU leader scrapped: Director". Deccan Herald. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  19. "Biopic on slain JNU leader Chandrashekhar Prasad to be revived". Business Standard India. 20 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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