Why students unions like SFI need to dissociate from political masters

Two totally unconnected incidents in two different parts of the country in the last few weeks have turned out to be remarkable early warning signals of a paradigm shift emerging in student politics in India. In one, a young SFI (Student Federation of India) activist died in police custody in West Bengal following street protests against a freeze on college union elections; while in the second, thousands of students poured into the streets of Tamil Nadu forcing the political parties of the state to take a tough stand against Sri Lanka for its alleged war crimes. The agitation in Kolkata, which cost the life of yet another SFI activist, led nowhere except for the exchanging of further political brickbats between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Marxists; while in the latter, the state of affairs of Sri Lankan Tamils became the most significant political issue in Tamil Nadu. [caption id=“attachment_695297” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The first was all about violence and acrimony over a silly issue of campus elections which acted as a proxy for political rivalry between the Marxists (CPM) and the Trinamool; while the second was about a larger political and human rights agenda that resonated internationally. In the first, there was blood and perpetuation of violence, but no result other than the tragedy of a poor family which Mamta termed “petty”, while in the second, it was all about peace, informed participation, and a well-intended result. In the conventional sense, the motley group of students in Kolkata was “political” because they were the “mini-Me” of the self-righteous CPM, whereas the countless students in Tamil Nadu were “apolitical” because they had no links with any political party. Furthermore, they even shunned the support of any political party and abhorred mainstream parties in the state for their mulish position on the issue. The Kolkata violence, despite causing more havoc, is yet to subside, whereas the Tamil Nadu students have gone back to the classrooms vowing to come back whenever there is a need. A few months back, thousands of students paralysed Delhi when a young girl was raped and killed by a group of hooligans in a moving bus. They spontaneously came out of their homes and colleges even as the ruling Congress and the other political parties were ruminating. The Congress tried its routine tricks, but the students were unrelenting for several days till it set in motion unprecedented actions and a legislative process. The Delhi students also were “apolitical” because they were allergic to existing political parties. Some, including the puppy outfits of the main parties, tried to share the reflected glory, but the students moved away. They didn’t want party politics;  they wanted results. During the eye-opening Anna Hazare agitation and the movement following the Delhi gangrape, analysts, authors and charlatans, who laboured to be politically correct, said these were just flashes in the pan and petty selfish anger of the middle-class. They said it would reach nowhere because the students were “apolitical”. But when it reached the streets of Tamil Nadu, the realisation of a reformation had dawned on them. There was this emerging sense that yesterday’s “apolitical” is today’s “political”. Academic and socio-political commentator MSS Pandian wondered if the Tamil Nadu movement was a “Tamil Spring”. “A new generation of college students in Tamil Nadu has taken up the cause of the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Articulate, well-informed and uncontaminated by the influence of time-serving politicians, they have successfully forced an agenda on the three main political parties in the state.” - his article in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) said. The beginning of this agitation was from Loyola College, Chennai’s equivalent of St. Stephens, which is known for its academic excellence. As Pandian notes in the article, most believe that the excellence of the college is because of its “depoliticised” student body. But on 8 March, eight students of the college began a fast that would break the myth of what is political and what is not. The fast captured the imagination of the students in the rest of the state, and it spread like wildfire. If student agitations were confined to law and arts colleges in the past, this time, they were overtaken by an overwhelming number of students of professional courses, who are otherwise considered “apolitical” careerists. When these students took to the streets, there was a qualitative difference. They didn’t damage public property, use foul language and cause any nuisance; but, they were utterly relentless in their demands. Instead of political attrition and violence, they organised events where the Sri Lankan ethnic issue and the UNHRC resolution were discussed threadbare. Most surprisingly, even the Chennai IIT joined the movement. TV stations ran live telecasts with multiple split-screens. Politicians were kept away. As Pandian notes, “significantly, the students’ agitation has thrown up a new young leadership, men and women, in Tamil Nadu.” He adds: “Self-assured, articulate and well-informed, they could rattle ill-informed TV anchors without batting an eyelid and confidently talk of the Geneva convention and Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Their understanding of politics too is complex. For instance, they are deeply aware of the politics that the media has played and continues to play. A large flex banner which was used in one of the demonstrations read, “Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Official Media Partner: The Hindu”. Indeed, a brilliant summary of the newspaper’s shameless role in defending the Mahinda Rajapaksa’s genocidal regime.” The “apolitical” student movements in Delhi and Tamil Nadu, which in reality are deeply political should be an eye opener for students and parents. Thanks to mainstream political parties for whom violence is a way of life, student politics is all about violence and martyrdom than real issues. In the left bastions of West Bengal and Kerala, where SFI fight proxy wars for the CPM with all other parties, many prestigious colleges such as the University College in Thiruvananthapuram, Nattakam college in Kottayam and the Maharajas College in Ernakulam have been reduced to dens of political hooligans. The University College in Thiruvananthapuram, which once was home to the state’s intellectuals, has now become the hideout for hooded political thugs of SFI who fight Kashmir style street battles with the police when their government is not in power. Has the SFI achieved a single result of consequence in the last decade? Yet they have no shortage of martyrs. Look at this fabulous page. In the recent past, the situation in West Bengal also has become really violent harking back to the scene in the 1970s. Another state that also witnesses constant political violence by students is Uttar Pradesh and reportedly the recent spurt of violence at the Aligarh Muslim university is linked to the revival of student unions by the Samajwadi Party. The vice chancellor had to issue a warning against country-made pistols and hooligans staying in campus. Violence also broke out in the Lucknow and Allahabad universities. The Delhi and Tamil springs are hugely reassuring. If only it threw up a new generation of enterprising youth leaders. Politicians, including the young turks who get in through the backdoor, will do everything at their disposal to thwart such a possibility. But the students can try to defeat them by being “apolitical”. Begin by seceding from the proxies of political parties and their hooligans in the campus. Students of Delhi and Tamil Nadu will vouch for you - by choosing to remain “apolitical” you are actually being intensely “political”.