A Student Scarred

Concerned about increasing incidents of communalism in Uttar Pradesh (UP) members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) rushed to the Khubbapur village in Muzaffarnagar last Sunday.

The village is the home of the eight-year-old student belonging to a minority community and whose teacher had asked his classmates to hit him hard one by one as punishment.

The student’s father has withdrawn him from the same school, and members of the SFI who met him say that the young boy continues to suffer from the aftereffects of the physical and mental harassment heaped upon him by his unapologetic teacher.

The SFI, UP head Prabudh Singh said that he met the family of the young victim who remains traumatised. The child was punished for not knowing his lessons, but also for belonging to a minority community. Singh has made promises to the helpless family to help the student to continue his studies.

Once upon a time, students had played an active and enlightened role in upholding the values of independent India like freedom, democracy and socialism. The history of the country’s students movement goes back to 1936 when the youth had come together under the umbrella organisation called the All India Students Federation (AISF) to combat imperialism and colonial politics.

Over decades that had followed the Independence of the country, students had actively engaged in debates regarding the idea of India and the role of the student community in nation building activities.

Despite a rainbow of views expressed by different students, the majority had remained determined to oppose every attempt by a handful of citizens to seize power for personal benefit. The spirit amongst the students was to see that all Indians were cared for in an equal manner in order to benefit India.

Throughout the early decades after Independence from colonialism the student movement had thrown up different ideological debates regarding the future of the country. What was common amongst all thinking citizens was never to compromise with the nation’s ruling class and to work hard towards the spread of progressive ideas amongst especially the youth.

The different ways put on the table to reorient the existing education system and to make it benefit all citizens eventually split the student federation into many organisations that preferred to work independently.

The SFI was born in 1970 to engage in issues that were in the best interest of students, including the creation of an atmosphere of communal harmony in the country.

Students Wake UP!

However, in recent times, the student politics of the nation has been paralysed in the face of personal political ambitions, fear of those in power and a lack of fresh ideas in their midst to stand up to contemporary challenges.

It is after ages that the UP chapter of the SFI has been active on the ground, and heard to protest against the curse of the day which is increasing communalism.

The SFI unit of Lucknow’s Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) too has raised its voice against the rise of communalism, and condemned all incidents of violence and discrimination against students in UP schools.

The silence of the majority of citizens in the face of cruelty faced by students seems like an act of support for the cruel in power, said one from the BBAU. Students regretted how some elders in present times are encouraging communal tendencies amongst citizens.

Another student talked about the importance of the Ganga-Jamuni way of life where goodness from different walks of life was woven together in imitation of the confluence of the two rivers like the Ganges and Jamuna. and practised daily in a cordial atmosphere of cheer. This way of life that had allowed all citizens to live, and to let live was the soul of the culture or tehzeeb that had made Lucknow such a special city.

“The need today is to stand up to speak for the vulnerable and to put a stop to hateful politics,” said another student while many raised slogans against communalism, hate, discrimination, casteism, violence and in support of secularism and the Constitution of India.

The Left Parties

The Left Parties that had seemed asleep for decades have woken up.. Together with the Congress Party, the Left Parties are supporting the Samajwadi Party (SP) contestant in Mau’s Ghosi constituency where a by-poll takes place on September 5.

Leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) said that the decision to join hands to defeat the ruling party is to save the Constitution. It is to save democracy in the country and to get rid of the bulldozer rule in UP.

In a face to face with the ruling party, the SP is supported by the Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), CPI, CPI (M), CPI (ML), Janata Dal (U) and Suheldev Swabhimaan Party (SSP).

Satendra Patel, UP state unit president JD (U) said, “We have extended support to the SP and will also campaign for the SP candidate Sudhakar Singh. After all the SP is our partner in the INDIA alliance”.

Dalit leader Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has neither fielded a candidate in the upcoming by-poll in Ghosi nor has she announced support to any of the contestants.

All eyes are on the by-poll which is the first after the INDIA alliance of opposition parties was formed.

Dara Singh Chauhan, a former ruling party minister had joined the SP and won the seat during the 2022 assembly elections. He has now returned to the ruling party after resigning from the Assembly seat and which is why the by-poll is being held.

Mayawati Says NO

When Mayawati announced early this week that she stands with the majboor (meek) and not the mazboot (muscled), speculation was that she would attend the INDIA alliance of 28 different parties meeting in Mumbai that began yesterday.

However, on the eve of the Mumbai meet, Mayawati chose to distance herself from the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

Stating her reason for not attending the Mumbai meet, Mayawati said that INDIA and the ruling party were both anti-poor, casteist, communal and pro-rich.

Mayawati said that her fight is with these policies and that is why her party the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) refuses to be part of any alliance, and will contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 alone.