Adarsh M Saji
The Editorial Board of Student Struggle Magazine vehemently condemns the horrific terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent people. We extend our deepest condolences to the grieving families of the victims. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice. We should have zero tolerance for terrorism.
The Union Government is answerable for the intelligence failure and the security lapses that led to the killings of civilians. It has been seen from Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama, and now Pahalgam—the Union Government’s negligence in defending against terrorism on Indian land.
After the Pahalgam attack, a targeted military operation was carried out by the Indian armed forces, which was supported by most of the people’s movements and political parties. However, the BJP-led government failed to capture the terrorists who had entered India and unleashed this heinous attack on civilians.
The right-wing media created an atmosphere of war hysteria by spreading fake news on a large scale. The BJP leaders, from the national level to the local level, celebrated the war hysteria created and tried for a communal presentation of the conflict. This includes the communal comment made on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi by the BJP minister in Madhya Pradesh, Vijay Shah, and the derogatory cyber attack launched against the Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, and his family. This has tarnished the image of India in front of the whole world.
The freedom to express dissent and gather in protest is the inalienable right of the student community. The denial of this right and the brutal punishment imposed for its exercise are telltale signs of a neo-fascist regime. For the past 11 years, Indian students have faced such repression—yet they continue to resist. After the third term of the Modi government began, these attacks have only intensified.
By wielding Union power, the regime is directing the administrations of various universities, which are filled with non qualified and aggressive supporters of Hindutva ideology. Through these perpetrators of Hindutva, they are systematically targeting students. In this student struggle magazine, we are raising the issues that the student community in India is confronting. Among them, SFI comrades have been the most heavily targeted during this period.
This editorial seeks to document the attacks faced by student activists and highlight the unwavering courage of the students, which is steadily defeating this autocratic rule.
Ramadas, SFI CEC member, a Dalit scholar, has been suspended and debarred from entering all campuses of Tata Institute of Social Sciences across India for two years. The administration’s main reason is that he attended the United Students of India march in Delhi against the exclusionary education policy NEP 2020. After a year of struggle, the Honorable Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of Ramadas, reaffirming his right to education.
In Ambedkar University Delhi, three SFI activists were arbitrarily suspended by the university for speaking out against a ragging incident that led to a student attempting suicide. This arbitrary suspension happened the day after SFI emerged as the majority force in the newly elected Ambedkar University Students Union election. For over a month, students have been organizing peaceful protests inside the campus against this, for which five more SFI comrades have been suspended. This included the elected treasurer and councillors of the student union. This is a blatant attack on campus democracy. The students of AUD did not step back—they fought back against this regime and won.
Eight students of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, have been suspended for their participation in a protest at the university against a sexual harassment incident that occurred in the university hostel, where the accused was a hostel clerical staff member. Among the suspended students, four were girls.
Lakhimpur Kheri-like barbaric attack happened in Jadavpur University, West Bengal, where the car of TMC leader and Education Minister Bratya Basu fled after hitting a student. The students were protesting against the government for not holding student union elections for many years.
In Jamia Millia Islamia University, the university administration has unleashed a series of attacks on students,
including police action. 16 students, including SFI unit president Sakhi, were suspended for protesting gainst the administration’s attempt to curb democracy on campus.
Seven students have been suspended at Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Chennai, and expelled from the hostel. The suspension followed the display of banners against the genocide in
Palestine and writing “Jai Bhim” on campus.
Similar types of attacks are happening across campuses in India. In Sanjauli College, Himachal Pradesh, six students, including SFI office bearers, were dismissed from the college because they took up a sexual harassment issue that occurred on campus and also protested for GSCASH on campus.
Not only students but also academicians and professors are facing barbaric attacks from the Sanghaligned
administration and the BJP regime. The arrest of Prof. Alikhan Mahmud of Ashoka University is one recent example among many.
In Hyderabad University, we witnessed a vigorous struggle taken up by the students’ union against the Telangana Congress government’s attempt to auction 400 acres of land belonging to the university to private players. The students’ struggle forced them to abandon this move. In this struggle, Comrade Naveen Erram was jailed for days. This was a landmark victory in student struggle at HCU.
We want to take a moment to remind those in power: the students of this country will not sit back and watch as mute spectators while all voices speaking for the common people are curbed. We will stand together and speak for all those voices that you have unlawfully and forcefully shut down. “In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing about the dark times”
The united movement of students will be victorious.!!