Three students of a Delhi madarasa have been beaten up for refusing to chant the slogan “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, prescribed lately as a test of patriotism by the BJP. A political resolution to this effect was passed by the party’s National Executive meeting recently. One can take precautions to stay out of trouble like avoiding a scuffle with a gangster or an argument with someone irrational or fundamentalist. But there is no choice when hoodlums force one to do or say something against one’s wish. Again, this is a small, isolated incident and Prime Minister Modi is not supposed to react. Nor is RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expected to rein in his soldiers.  In these days of intolerance limitations on freedom of speech are imposed not only on the streets, even universities are not spared. Zealots are taking charge of the university arena and muzzling dissent or a free exchange of ideas. It seems the ideological transformation of universities is being carried out successfully through a pliable HRD Minister. JNU’s students are not the only sufferers of bigotry (Kanhaiya Kumar has been forced to cancel his AMU visit); its teachers too are suspected of running nurseries for anti-nationals. It is evident from what has happened in Jharkhand’s Central University, where a teacher has been suspended just because she invited a JNU professor of “doubtful credentials” to a function associated with Sardar Patel. Have the university rules been amended to include such grounds for suspension?  When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat called upon everyone to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, Owaisi, a Muslim leader, defied him. His party MLA was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for the same reason. They maintained that they could not be forced to say anything against their will. Now that Mohan Bhagwat too says the same thing, his U-turn has left the BJP wondering what to do with its political resolution. Arun Jaitley has already claimed a victory in some kind of “ideological battle”. The BJP-RSS combine is just shrinking India’s space for dissent and democracy, and it runs away from taking responsibility for what its foot soldiers do in the country.http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/editorials/the-bharat-mata-test/215715.html