Youth Up In Arms Against Ban On IIT-Madras Students Body

NEW DELHI: The incident might not appear big on the face of it, but it has had a widespread impact on yet another constituency that voted in large number for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last Lok Sabha polls: the youth. The decision by the management of IIT-Madras to ban Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle following intervention by the Ministry of Human Resource Development has created visible anger and resentment amongst the young people with several students unions coming out to decry the move.

The National Students Union of India staged an angry protest outside the residence of HRD Minister Smriti Irani demanding the controversial circular against the students body be withdrawn. As a result of the ban the members of the student body, largely Dalits, are now denied the use of the IIT auditorium, email services and even use of the Institute’s notice board. The APSC members told reporters that they were agitating against the imposition of Hindi, ban on beef and other issues that clearly did not go down well with the Ministry and the IIT authorities.

Student Unions slammed the decision as did an outpouring of posts and tweets by young people on the social media. The centre was held responsible for inciting this ban, with the Facebook posts highly critical of curbing freedoms, and seeking to impose “one thought” on the youth across the country. “Emergency” and Violation of Freedoms were the main charges against the IIT authorities and the central government as students united from across the country in lambasting the decision to curb the peaceful activities of a students body.

All India Students Association President, Sucheta told The Citizen, “we condemn this action, it is a ridiculous thing to happen in an educational institution.”

The Joint Secretary of the Students Federation of India, Vikram Singh was equally angry saying, “it is murder of democracy. People can have different views and opinions. You cannot snatch the freedom of expression from students.”

The state secretary, Tamil Nadu of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, Vel Murugan said, “this is a totally undemocratic move, reminding us of the Emergency days. Dr Ambedkar was against the caste system and the students body was merely spreading his message. Bans like this are not good for educational institutions.”

An undersecretary of the HRD Ministry wrote to the IIT on the basis of an “anonymous” complaint wrote to the IIT Madras Director asking for his comments on APSC. On the basis of this the Director banned the organisation, that had been formed in April 2014, altogether. A statement issued by the student body said, “the Dean of students said the names ‘Ambedkar and Periyar’ are politically motivated and thus the study circle should be renamed with some apolitical titles without any personality’s name. APSC took stubborn decision to stick with the same title. For a second time in September 2014, he sent a mail for the same reason, through the general counselling unit for students stating that the name is polarising the students. We clearly explained the motto of the study circle and relevance of Ambedkar and Periyar’s name.”

IIT-Madras, in the wake of the controversy, issued a statement maintaining, “As per the guidelines in force, students bodies can’t use the name of IIT-Madras or its official entities in any capacity, to publicise their activities or garner support, without official permission. This group has violated the guidelines while conducting their meeting. Normally violation of these guidelines leads to temporary de-recognition pending their presenting their stand to the Board of Students. In the present case also, the same procedure is being followed.”

The first indication that the enthusiastic support for PM Modi amongst the youth had been adversely affected came just before the Delhi elections, when the young people voted overwhelmingly for the Aam Aadmi Party. Controversies over divisive programs such as Love Jihad and moral policing by the right wing organisations had led to disaffection amongst the youth. Significantly in Chennai IIT- Madras had become the hub of protests against moral policing, with students observing a kissing day to defy the pressure being felt from these groups at the time.

(With inputs from Shivank Jhanji)