Stand up and speak out

Thousands of students from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia hit the streets of the national capital to raise their voice against the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl, who is now battling for life.

They stopped traffic, raised slogans, staged nukkad nataks and gheraoed officials and ministers, demanding stringent punishment for those involved in the rape.

Interestingly, 25 students from St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, who had gone to Delhi on a study trip, also joined in the protests. They too screamed at the top of their voices, marched with other protestors and got a feel of something that they had never witnessed or seen back home in Bangalore.

Bangalore takes pride in calling itself a young and vibrant city. It is known for its parties and drinking holes, frequented and patronised by youngsters. But when it comes to raising an issue or voicing an opinion, these same youngsters look the other way. The more active ones among the lot turn to social networking sites to run a campaign. Even after the recent rape of a NLSIU student, the protests in the City were nothing compared to the ones that the national capital is witnessing.

Latha Paul, one of the students of St Joseph’s College Arts and Science, who was at the protest in Delhi, says that the student community in Bangalore lacks enthusiasm when it comes to such issues. “There is a kind of lethargy here and a lack of leadership. People are always looking at someone else to take the lead. I felt the energy at the protests in Delhi — one can never see that kind of fervour here in Bangalore,” she adds.

Kiran Jeevan, lecturer, PG Department of Social Work of the college, says that it’s time the students exercised their rights and stopped being afraid of raising their voices. “Here, people are very scared of the police and back out of protests because of that. The way the Bangalore police treats people who are protesting is very different from what happens in Delhi. But it’s time to change — students should get sensitised to issues and come out of their shells,” he adds.

Sagar Dutta, the student president of CMRIT, feels that a lot has to do with the attitude of the students here. From experience, he believes that people respond to incidents depending on the part of the country that the victim and perpetrator come from. “I have seen that in many cases, the whole North-South divide is very evident. There is a lack of unity. Once that is cleared, the young voice will be a lot stronger,” adds Sagar.

But Gayathri, the student president of Mount Carmel College, says that no change will come about by just protesting or voicing opinions. “Campaigning and staging protests are good in their own way. When it comes to student activism, it’s not that we don’t care at all — we do empathise, but the law in our country is such that it will take its own time. It’s time that we actually do something about this ourselves,” she explains.

   To sum it up, Latha adds that it’s time to leave egos aside and come forward to shake up the chairs. “The priorities of students in Bangalore seem to be very different. But after this, I feel we should take inspiration, change our attitude and make a difference,” she adds.