New Delhi: With student bodies in India becoming tools in the hands of the political parties and constant rise in cases of campus activism and violence in the last few months, discussions about keeping politics out of the campus have now started to surface.
It is apparent that in the past few months, student politics in India has become extremely ugly. This is not because politics has suddenly entered the campuses in a virulent form. Politics has always been a feature of campus life; however, now there is a disturbing drift towards intolerance. Academicians believe this certainly calls for separation of education from political influences.
Empirical evidence also shows that campus politics has ended up doing more harm than good in India. Not only are students subject to violence and coercion in institutes where campus politics is prevalent, but the quality of education also tends to suffer on account of frequent disruptions by such bodies.
The latest is the case of student violence at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh. The BHU is on the edge since September 23 when police baton-charged students protesting against alleged inaction on the sexual harassment complaint of a female student.
A police complaint was registered against more than 1,000 students in connection with the violence.
“A large number of girls were staging a dharna (sit-in) on September 23 after a case of molestation was reported to Vice Chancellor (VC). There were no direct talks with VC, though his representatives were sent to discuss the issue with the girls. After two days, male students joined in, including some with political affiliations. There was slogan shouting and some boys said they would ensure protection of girls on campus, but girls refused to budge from the protest. At that moment, someone torched a police vehicle, leading to a baton-charge by policemen,” history student Anshul Chandra told Gulf News. Later Chief Proctor O.N. Singh took moral responsibility for the violence and resigned from his position.
The molestation victim, a hosteller at the University, had lodged the complaint with Singh. She was allegedly molested by men on motorcycles on September 21. The students accused Singh of not taking the complaint seriously. More so, Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi blamed the student for the incident saying she stayed out late.
“I was returning to my hostel from my department at around 6:20pm on September 21 when near the Bharat Kala Bhawan two men on a motorbike came from behind and molested me before speeding away. As it was dark, I could not see the number on the motorbike,” the victim said in the complaint.
Earlier, Tripathi had stated that “outsiders” spoiled the atmosphere at the campus at a time of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to his constituency in Varanasi.
“We are ready to take action but let the students approach us first. They are staging a dharna (sit-in) on the street. That is not the right way. I sent a delegation of teachers to communicate with the protesting students. Despite the large size of BHU campus, I am willing to address the genuine problems of the students. But the purpose of this sit-in is something else. It is politically motivated. Prime Minister Modi is visiting Varanasi and what better time can be for them to stage a protest,” Tripathi told Gulf News.
Interestingly, more than 200 Samajwadi Party (SP) activists were detained on Thursday while they were going to meet the injured students.
“A special committee comprising senior Samajwadi Party leaders was heading to BHU to meet the injured students and also inquire about the incident from protesting students when the police detained them. Unfortunately, the police stopped us from going to BHU, so we staged a sit-in in front of BHU main gate,” Samajwadi Party’s (SP) state spokesperson Manoj Rai Dhoopchandi told Gulf News.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had intervened to defuse the crisis in the varsity. Prime Minister Modi instructed Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to look into the grievances of students. Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah also spoke to UP Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath about the campus unrest and instructed him to take confidence-building steps.
In a bid to defuse tension, the BHU administration on Thursday appointed Prof Royana Singh of Anatomy Department of Institute of Medical Science as the first woman chief proctor of the university.
Timeline of campus violence
February, 2016: A cultural evening was organised by some students inside Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on February 10 against the execution of separatist leader Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, and for Kashmir’s right to self-determination. Anti-India slogans were reportedly raised at the protest meet. On February 14, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh alleged that the JNU incident had the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. Delhi Police arrested the JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy.
January, 2016: Students in the Hyderabad University campus erupted in protest demonstrations soon after the news of Dalit research student Rohith Vemula’s suicide broke. The immediate target of their anger were Vice-Chancellor (VC) Appa Rao and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Bandaru Dattatreya. The administrative action against Vemula had followed after these two wrote to Union Minister of Human Resources Development Smriti Irani to inform her of the “anti national” activities allegedly going in the university and asked her to look into the matter. Vemula committed suicide after his rustication, allegedly at the behest of Irani.
December, 2015: As protests by students erupted over the Centre’s stand on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), VC Zameeruddin Shah called upon the students not to get unduly exercised on the issue and have “full faith” in the judiciary. The issue of restoration of the minority character of AMU is at present pending with the Supreme Court but what has triggered the protests is the Centre’s recent decision to reverse the previous government’s stand of supporting the university in the apex court on this issue.
December, 2015: National Students Union of India (NSUI), the youth wing of the Congress, and some Left wing students protested for days outside the Delhi University main campus against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s lecture on the Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue. The two-day seminar titled “Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Temple: Emerging Scenario” was organised by Arundhati Vashishtha Anusandhan Peeth (AVAP), a research organisation founded by late Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal. Swamy lashed out at those opposing the seminar in Delhi University campus and dubbed them as “intolerant” even as the students and teachers continued to stage protests.
November, 2015: Voices of resistance grew louder against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as students of Jamia Milia Islamia University protested against him being invited as the chief guest for their upcoming convocation. Among the reasons they cited was what Modi reportedly said about the university some eight years ago: “doob maro (go drown)”. The remark was occasioned by the so-called Batla House encounter of September 2008 between the Delhi Police and terrorists where two Jamia students were arrested on alleged terror links.
June, 2015: Students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) continued their strike for almost 150 days opposing the appointment of television actor Gajendra Chauhan as head of the institute. They were also up in arms against four of the eight members appointed as member of the governing council under ‘Persons of Eminence’ category. All four had strong Hindu right wing connections.
September, 2014: The “Hok Kolorob” movement was a series of protests by the students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata, that began on September 3, 2014. Literally “let there be cacophony” in Bangla language, the term “Hok Kolorob” was originally the title of a song by Bangladeshi singer Arnob. On September 16, 2014, peaceful demonstrations by students took place in front of the administrative building of the university, demanding an investigation into the molestation of a female student. Following several unsuccessful attempts at dialogue with the authorities, the students physically blocked VC Abhijit Chakrabarti who called the police. The subsequent police brutality unleashed upon the students triggered a wave of protests which continued for several months.
