Mayukh Biswas
The future of any country is born in the schools, colleges and universities of that country. The future leaders, scientists, teachers, sportspeople, and future warriors of various fields are nurtured and nourished here. The entire country has to pay a huge price if the future of the country is neglected. Thus, in all countries, the revolutionary powers pay a special importance to the students. On the other hand, the right wing is always against political activism. According to them, the more one knows, the less they obey. The Centrist follow almost the same conservative mindset. But the leftists encourage the growth of political ideas, because it is the left who sings in favour of breaking shackles, and against exploitation. This is why it is us, the activists of Students’ Federation of India, who are imprisoned, or martyred, more often than not. Karl Marx had said, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” Thus, we practise, discuss, and plan, through the implementation and interpretation of which we would bring forth a new dawn.
Even the Indian Constitution has given the right to vote to every 18 year old, the right to elect their representative. It has also given the right to 21 year olds, to participate and contest as representatives. These young-adults are the ones who would study political theories in their classrooms. Thus, the ruler or the ones who want to continue the system of exploitation, always aspire to keep logical, scientific, value-based merit within shackles, because the students are like a transmitter. It is the most sympathetic part of the society, and can follow through with the work swiftly and efficiently. They are the ones who have taken a major role in changing the sustaining system. India is not an exception to this. But despite the students’ movements being strong, they never manage to successfully bring about a revolutionary change. But we also believe that the students alone are not enough to build a class power to facilitate economic and social changes. However, they can take up the very crucial role of the catalyst, to help the movement to go further. We also need to focus on the demands of the underprivileged students.
Pre-Independence India
The seeds of organised students’ movement were sowed back in 1827-28, in pre-independence India, when the first student organisation, the ‘Academic Association’ was built under the leadership of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. The aim of this organisation was not to serve any professional interest, but rather a democratic and conscious protest against conservative ideas. Following this, the ‘Young Bengal’ attacked the institutions of superstitions, blind faith and spoke boldly in favour of women’s education. Even then, they were attacked by the conservative, imperialist rulers of the time. After this, constant efforts were made to create student organisations and movements against these imperialist forces, one after the other. While the entire country witnessed the glorious roles of students in movements against the partition of Bengal, the Khilafat movement, and movements against the Rowlatt Act, the Socialist Revolution of 1917 touched the hearts of the students of India.
The students tried to organise themselves in various ways, in the hopes of a united fight. The first students’ union was formed in the then Ripon College in 1919. Following this, in 1928, the All Bengal Students’ Association was formed. The teachers of the time contributed heavily to the formation of the latter, like Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy. Soon after, in 1931, we see personalities like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Shukdev. Their revolutionary paths, slogans of ‘Inquilab Zindabaad’, and their oaths of secularism rejuvenated the spirits of the students and youths of India. Around the 1930s, attempts to unite the student movements from all parts of the country at a national level was made, the fruit of which was the foundation of the All India Student Federation. 26 proposals were taken in the first conference of the AISF, the aim of which was – to improve the education system of the country keeping in mind the diverse culture of India, to establish and confirm the rights of the students and to build the students as citizens ready to participate in the independence struggle. Among the demands within the folds of education – the overall distribution of free and compulsory education, reduction of fees, opportunity of studying in mother tongue and relieving the guardians from their education fees, and a syllabus that was not undemocratic or anti national.
Among the democratic demands were – the recognition of students’ union, the control of education in the hands of the people, ceasing of capital punishments and the right to students to practice political activism. This is because in the pre-independence era, many students were expelled from educational institutions and were subjected to harsh caning and other humiliating punishments for participating in anti-establishment rebellions. Along with that, economic demands such as demand for allowance for the unemployed were put forward. In Bengal, a branch of this AISF was built in the year 1936 at Shraddhananda Park by the name of Bangiya Pradeshik Student Federation, keeping the goals of AISF ahead of them. From this time onward, student politics move steadily ahead, and take a turbulent shape in Bengal with the demands of the release of the political prisoners. The AISF played a glorious role during the Bengal Famine of 1943. Right before the independence, the leftist students of AISF played vital roles, on Rashid Ali day, during the naval rebellion or in stopping communal riots. They created an iconic example in the pre-independence era by fighting against collonialism, sharpening their ideas and ideologies and by being there for the general students as a whole.
From before independence, AISF had moved for better education rights, better quality of life and for a better society overall. But post-independence, these demands were deemed dangerous by the ruling party, The Indian National Congress. With independence in India, came the threats posed by Partition, communal riots and the influx of refugees, causing huge problems in the socio-economic and political lives of the people of India. At the same time, crores of Indians who have been deprived of minimum rights in the colonized India, received only hopelessness even after independence. Cracks seem to develop even within united students’ movement. In 1950, during the formation of NSUI, Nehru gave an absolutely opposite opinion than what he had during 1928 or 1936. He spoke in favour of the depoliticization of students. But the contemporary condition of the country was terrifying. The Indian National Students’ Union was formed by the Congress to maintain their position of implementation. They tried to keep the students away from the path of rebellion, of defiance. The general students saw that Government was doing nothing to address the fundamental problems of the citizens, which was affecting the lives of the students as well. In a situation such as this, with the demands of development in education and to make it democratic, improvement in the quality of lives of the teachers and the working class, defiance against communal riots, reduction of fees for education, ceasing of suppression policy on students and teachers, relieving fees for the refugee students etc, student movement rose under the leadership of leftist students. The everyday demands of the general students made an impact among all. For example, in 1949, all colleges of Kolkata declared a long strike in support of the demands put forth by the commerce students of Calcutta University. Although it was just the movement of the commerce students initially, it later grew into a movement against the Congress Government. From the early 1950s, multiple movements grew protesting against failing numerous students under the pretext of English education, against fee hike, against wrong decisions regarding admission procedure, etc. Later on, in 1952, the contemporary Congress Government proposed ‘school code’ via the Madhyamik board, the point of which was to control admission procedure and to sentence restrictions over students and teachers alike. Even then the Leftist students moved against the narrow, undemocratic education system along with other students and teachers. Students marched to the Board Office and followed a state-wide strike against the ‘School Code’. Again, in 1955, all school students, and in 1958, all colleges of Kolkata, followed a strike against fee hike, which sent almost 1200 Satyagrahi students to jail for protesting, and ultimately these student movements forced the revocation of the fee hike orders. And these movements on the regular issues of the students received support from the general students, making the movement bigger. Among these, the ones most worth mentioning are, the movement against the hiked tram fare in 1953, the united students’ strike in solidarity of the Madhyamik teachers in 1954, and the students’ movement in solidarity with the historic Movement Against Starvation in 1959.
Not just movement oriented, but many structural actions are also notable in this case. Along with playing a glorious role in the flood relief during the disastrous flood in the 1950s and reformation, the student unions run by the Student Federation played many ideological roles in order to grow the qualities of students’ lives, like standing beside poor and sick students. The formation of the “Students’ Heath Home”, to provide medical help to poor students at a nominal price, is worth mentioning here. Along with that, the student unions were platforms to bring students into movements, where healthy, alternative popular cultural programmes won the respect and trust of the general students. And depending on this trust and confidence, the work of organising and uniting students against the imperialist forces and the misrule of the government, grows. The progressive students of our country played an important part in the big political movements of the ‘50s and the ‘60s – like sending volunteers at the Goamukti Movemnet of 1956, the movement against joining Bengal and Bihar, the students’ demand for states based on language, showing solidarity to the freedom fight and ‘Bhasha Andolon’ (Fight for the Mother tongue) in East Pakistan, Vietnam Movement, strikes in protest against breaking the Communist government in Kerala and supporting the farmers in their fight for land.
Battle of Ideas and Formation of SFI
Student movement again faced a divide in the 1960. From the ‘50s itself, two contrasting ideologies started to come forth in student movements. The leadership of AISF wanted to come to an understanding with the Congress, and wanted to pause the movements and fights against the latter for a while. On the other side, the constantly growing prices pushed the other set of the student activists decide to continue revolting against the Congress government. It is at this time that the right wing extremists, the student front of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) — the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad -– started to work.
When the general students were disappointed and disheartened at the insensitive role of the Congress government, a part of AISF leadership decided to support the Congress policies. Disregarding this, students from various states start to organise themselves and in the 1960s, almost 7 states had independent student organisations of their own, like BPSF in Bengal, KSF in Kerala. These organisations started organising students with their fundamental demands of education and work. The year 1970 was set to become a landmark in the history of organised student movement. On the 27th-30th December of that year an all India Conference was held from which the Students Federation of India was born. The Students Federation had been reorganising itself since 1964 in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Bengal, Tripura and several other states. But there was no national organisation to give definite direction to the country-wide movement. The preparation for this conference began in June at Netaji Nagar, Kolkata, with representatives of 10 state students’ federations. First meeting of organisation committee was taken place in Dumdum and Students’ federation of India was formed through its First Conference which was held at Thiruvananthapuram between December 27to 30th in the year 1970. The slogan that was raised from the conference was “Independence, Democracy, Socialism”. A new design of flag was taken after long debate. A new program and constitution were written.
A Saga of Resistance Through Tumultuous Times
During the mid ’60s, when the Congress, having lost touch or connection with the mass, lost in many of the State elections, the need to reform student movements of all over India by banking on the collective mass outrage came up. With this aim, the leaderships of various such student federations from different states came together and took an oath to build a new student organisation through a draft workplan. From that time on, through progressive work, student organisation grew in India. In these tough times, movements grew with fundamental demands like demand for scientific, advanced and holistic progress in education, demand for democratic rights of the students, etc. In this situation different left students’ organisations in different states planned movements at the right time in the right path according to the situation.
Regardless of a hundred problems and attacks, the struggle of the students remained continuous even at that time. In the Movement Against Starvation of 1966, student movement and democratic movement played a historic role. Movements turn in mass outrage in various parts of Bengal with the demand for rice and kerosene at a cheaper rate for school students. And along with that, through leftist movements demanding food and land for the villagers, the unaware, rural people were drawn to leftism. The outreach and awareness made by the students and the deep determination of the people to stick to their fight rejuvenated the movement and the mass. Staying with the people of West Bengal and voicing their demands since independence resulted in a political shift there from 1967. The United Front won the elections of 1967, which fell due to constant conspiracy against it since day 1. This undemocratic way of making a government fall was protested widely. The alternative that was offered to the people for a short while, that extended its impact on the mass consciousness. After the fall of the first United Front, the attacks on the student movements grew, despite which, the movements continued. Again in 1967, the second United Front wins. In the earlier Congress regime, the demands that were ignored and neglected time and again, were taken by the United Front in a 32 clause workplan. Due to long movements together, the working class, farmers and students all benefit from the ally government. The workers’ movement and the land reforms progress steadily. The conspiracy to break this government was still going strong, but along with that, mass movements were also going on to save it. At that time, even the students choose the side of this government which is in favour of the working class in movements with educational and democratic demands. The left students movements protest at the streets demanding more state powers, student representative in universities, jobs at the end of education, etc. But the second United Front falls, too, due to conspiracies.
At this time, a deep ideological conflict can be seen within the students’ movements. Revolutionary movements and movements based on the everyday demands of the people get attached with the revolutionary desires of the working class and the farmers. The student movements face continuous attacks both from the outside as well as from the inside. The revisionist tendency within the organisation was always there, but towards the end of the 1960s, in the name of revolution, the reactionary Naxalite movement started to destroy all the revolutionary elements themselves.
When the organised student organisations fought in support of the farmers and the working class, it became an important point to save these students from the attacks towards the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. After the fall of the second United Front, an unannounced emergency period starts in West Bengal, which started in the country from 1975. On one hand there was the Congress government, police forces and on another were the constant attacks from the hyper-revolutionaries. But even at this time, the extended demands of education were pushed through movements with utmost importance. Simultaneously was the process of protecting the students’ front from the attacks, along with reforming it. When the movements could not be carried forward in the open, the work started in secret. They carried forward the work that could be done in the open and continued to organise the outreach in secret. Many methods were also taken up based on various localities.
After the emergency, the student movements became overwhelmed within the democratic framework. The student front protested against the limitless corruption and misrule of the ‘70s. In June, 1977, Left Front wins the Assembly Elections. For 34 long years since then, the fight to make the right to education reach more homes continued, along with movements against the Central policies which were anti-education and regressive. The educational policies of Left Front reflect the demands of the students which were fulfilled through movements resulting in an alternative education in the society.
Our Duty in the Changing Landscape
In the post-Soviet world, there has been a huge increase in commodification and greed across the world as well as in India. This is showing up in the increasing loneliness, and depressions. Consumerist culture is trying to change the fundamental nature, values and humanity, paving the path to commodification and solely profit-making tendencies. There are well-planned initiatives and efforts to popularise and normalise lack of Ideology, values and transparency in politics. The necessities of a capitalist society inevitably manifest themselves into changes in syllabus and curriculum. The subjects with greater profit-making probability are getting more preference than the fundamental sciences and Social sciences, for example, Engineering, Management, Fashion technology are increasingly prioritised over other subjects. Very large sections of the students are currently a part of this vocational education system. Along with this the revolutionary changes in communication has further led to its use for both positive and negative aspects.
Because of all these changes. Our society is changing very fast, just like its values and ethos. We are getting access to gigantic reservoirs of information as well. However, we need to ensure that the general students are getting a wholesome progressive value education. We also need to ensure that they are not exposed to negative aspects. Similarly, the ability to analyse properly from these huge information reservoirs is also essential to Twenty-first century.
SFI has its own understanding and decisions. In the last forty-nine years many comrades of SFI have become martyrs as the state powers have been implementing the cruel and barbaric methods through the fundamentalist and right wing decisive forces. SFI comrades were tortured, jailed and academically victimized. But SFI was able to fight back every time.
We believe that the organisation cannot function without its discipline and decisions. Ideological education is very important in this context, especially when corruption and consumerism is widespread. We therefore need regular classes and ambience for ideological nourishment. Because, without proper understanding and conception of politics and ideology, strong organisation cannot be built. To organise is to take our thoughts to the general students. Organisation does not mean merely following established rules and procedures. It is truly painful to lose our comrades, but when the ethos, understanding and behaviour of a Comrade is unlikely of a Comrade and that comrade has not improved despite several chances being given, that person is no more important to a revolutionary organisation.
The organisation has to be strengthened and connected to the broader movement in this manner. Similarly, we need to be very conscious when it comes to our choice of slogans. Rapidly changing society requires properly constructed slogans which touch the sensitive mind of the students.
The same applies to deciding on our program. Organisational efficiency has to be attained in order to enable ourselves to react as quickly as possible when the need arises. Cultural programmes is also integral to our quest for alternative culture free of consumerism and commercialisation. But, at the same time we need to ensure that they don’t become the crux of our program. Because these are reformist programs and without the presence of elements of resistance and participation of general students they become futile. Students from disadvantaged background especially minorities, tribals are to be brought in even larger numbers.
Social Media plays a very important role in the current situation. The attack of large media conglomerates has been attacking the party and trying to make it irrelevant, it is of great strategic importance for us to use Social Media efficiently. In places and spaces where the opposition is denied any entry, Social Media can also serve as the only medium of contact between the general students and the organisation. Long-lasting promotion of movements and protests are also important. However, we have to keep ourselves away from controversies on Social Media. At the same time, we also need to ensure that our organisation does not become reliant on Social Media only.
The education system is under threat from BJP across the country. Physical and Mental assaults have become very normal. Liberation is difficult from this situation, but not impossible. In this situation, movements have to be built based on the local issue based demands of students. The movement demanding education and employment for all has to be intensified. To build this resistance, a strong bond among Students -Teachers-Guardians-Researchers-Education workers is integral. We have to united and patient. Our Ideology, endurance, perseverance, creativity and courage are our weapons in this struggle. With the help of our weapons, the Students’ Federation of India, educated in the motto of “Study”,“Struggle” and “Sacrifice”, will definitely bring a spring of resistance ensuring emergence of a new dawn in our country
Mayukh Biswas is the All India General Secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI). He is based in New Delhi, and is the Chief Edior of Student Struggle.
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