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Campus politics nurtures democracy

Last Updated 04 July 2016, 18:33 IST

During the student protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad Central University, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had objected to campus politics. Months after that, a government panel headed by former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian – who earlier headed even the new environment policy working group –has recommended restrictions on political activities in universities and colleges across the country.

A few days back, in the wake of criticisms, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had rejected the committee’s recommendation banning student politics and proposed to conduct a study on how to prevent “outsiders” and those who have ceased to be students from playing an “active role” in student politics, disrupting the academic activities. The ministry also recognised the positive role played by student unions in furthering the interests of democracy.

In India, the trend of students actively participating in politics began in the early 20th century, when the country was fighting for its freedom. Political parties, at that time, started soliciting the support of the young students who organised themselves to help one party or the other. This trend continues till date.

While a majority of the public argue that students should be kept away from politics, confining them to their study schedules only, the politicians took the younger generation as their labour force. The present scenario is thus a keen struggle of political parties engaged in enlisting support of students.

There are both disadvantages and advantages of students being on the centre stage of politics. There have been incidences of violence, strikes, and protest movements in our educational institutions for different reasons. We have to realise that our economic development – industries, social welfare schemes, health, education, and infrastructure development – is guided by political policies and practices.

Politics controls the creativity of our artists and writers – what they can or cannot speak. Political backing is required for even religious communities. It also impacts and often controls our personal lives – the number of children that we can have, the food that we can eat, the dress we can wear etc. Political philosophers have extolled popular participation as a source of vitality, creative energy, as a defence against tyranny, and as a means of enacting the collective wisdom.

The realities of the society we live in should be understood to value the need for politics in our institutions, Politics today, whether desirable or not, has become totalitarian in nature all around the world, varying only in terms of degree. It has become so pervasive that there exists no social institution that is not affected by politics or is devoid of internal politics.

Deeply entrenched

If politics is so deeply entrenched in our system, how can universities display apathy to it? If the goal of education is not myopically defined to train students only in knowledge acquisition, but is to prepare students for unanticipated and unimagined things that life has to offer, then politics is imperative as a part and parcel of campus activities.

Character building is the first step to nation building. Since campus politics is linked to national and state level politics, it becomes a good springboard for youngsters to enter the political pitch. Student politics institutionalises the merit-based search for future leaders.

It is disheartening to note that premier institutions of our country do not allow student politics. Consequently, some of the best minds in India do not get to enter the political arena.
Those who dispute against the politicisation of institutions give innumerable examples of the entire academic sessions going to waste. They condemn political violence entering the ‘temples’ of learning. Handling this issue by disallowing politics in campuses is a myopic view. May be, a change in the kind of the politics they practice can be thought of.

Democratic politics is not only about the ritual of political canvassing, elections, protests etc, but also refers to the dialectical environment of debate, discussion, dialogue and dissent in a peaceful setting. The intention is not to bulldoze opposing ideas but to recognise the right of others to have differing thoughts or ideologies.

In a country with the world’s largest youth population, it is no doubt that the voice of students matters. For the future leaders, student unions are the first step to understand how a democracy works.

(The writer teaches at Christ University, Bengaluru)

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(Published 04 July 2016, 17:38 IST)

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