Memories With Student Struggle: Talking to Sitaram Yechury
Sitaram Yechury, Nitheesh Narayanan
Sitaram Yechury was the Editor of Student Struggle from 1980 to 1986, the longest serving Editor of the journal so far. He was elected as President of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) at the Dum Dum Conference in 1984, and relieved from the movement at the Vijayawada Conference of the SFI in 1986. In this interview, Yechury shares his memories with Student Struggle editor, Nitheesh Narayanan.
Nitheesh Narayanan (NN): You were the Editor of Student Struggle for more than six years. I was going through the journal’s archives of that period. The first thing that struck me was the consistency maintained in publishing, whereby an issue came out every month without fail. We are not a publishing house, but a students’ movement with many other organisational tasks and unpredictable engagements. How did you ensure the consistency?
Sitaram Yechury (SY): At the outset, I need to put the record straight. There were some delays in the publication of Student Struggle every month, despite the best efforts to maintain the consistency. There were various factors that contributed to such delays, and mainly, these were financial. In terms of the editorial content, there was never any delay or shortage of matter. Many comrades and well-wishers who were with the SFI, now moved on to journalism or the teaching world voluntarily, contributed whenever asked to write about a particular issue or development.
After the 3rd All India SFI Conference in Patna in 1979, the SFI Centre moved from Calcutta to New Delhi. It took us — those elected at the conference and entrusted with the responsibility of setting up the central office at New Delhi — nearly a year to find a place for the central office to begin functioning. The Student Struggle was registered in Calcutta, and the bureaucratic delays in shifting the registration and the ownership of the title “Student Struggle” to New Delhi took considerable time and effort. It was only in July 1980 that we could commence the publication of the journal from New Delhi. The editorial of this first issue was titled “Our Mission”. It explained the role of the journal of the SFI as an instrument in informing and organising the student community all over the country on progressive, democratic and scientific foundations.
NN: Back then, the technology was not as advanced as it is today. Members of the Editorial Team were located in different states, with no means of online communication. How did you all coordinate and what were the major challenges?
SY: The thirst for information, knowledge and awareness of what was happening around the world and in India was the main motivation that brought together a dedicated team of comrades, all working part-time to contribute and enrich the content of the journal.
Yes, technology then was not as advanced as it is today. A student magazine without pictures would have been the most unattractive. In order to publish photographs or any other graphics, we needed to make what were then called “blocks”. The printing was done entirely in a letter press, where the matter had to be composed with metallic lead alphabets. The making of blocks costs money. Hence, the look of the Student Struggle was always determined by the availability of finances.
It was a creative effort. There were many difficulties. It was certainly a challenging task that we all somehow met.
NN: The articles published were not only related to politics, education or organisational news, but also sports, arts, science, and many niche topics. What was the approach taken by the team in terms of content formation? As a movement-based publication, was there any magazine that served as a model for Student Struggle?
SY: The contents of the journal were also designed in a way that could capture all aspects that would normally interest a student, and efforts were made to cover wide areas of sports, arts, scientific knowledge, and advances along with what was happening in the world, particularly the national liberation movements and struggles of that time, and more importantly, the developments in India, that directly related to the future of the students and their livelihood concerns, i.e., dealing with education, employment opportunities, and growing people’s struggles.
There was no particular journal or publication that served as a model for the Student Struggle. Our ambition was to create a journal of the students’ organisation, which would be unique, both in its coverage of a wide range of issues and the depth of its analysis.
NN: The journal covered international developments – especially news related to wars, apartheid, Israel’s invasion of Palestine, imperialism etc., and that too regularly. In this way, the SFI stated its views on all major developments in the world. How was this consistency maintained?
SY: The 1980s was a decade when people’s liberation movements were engaged in multiple struggles. It was only natural that students in countries like Palestine or South Africa or the countries in Latin America were invariably involved in these. The SFI has always had an international outlook, and solidarity with these movements was an integral part of the organisation’s world view.
In those days, there used to be regular periodic World Assemblies of the Youth and Students through World Youth Festivals. Such festivals in Havana in 1978 and in Moscow in 1985 saw various activities that brought together progressive students’ and youth movements from across the world around themes like anti-imperialism, peace, and progress. These events gave the opportunity for the SFI and the Student Struggle to first, learn from the experience of these struggles, and then, to report on them.
NN: Who were the major contributors besides student activists and researchers?
SY: We felt that it was necessary to understand the evolution of the student movement since its emergence during the Indian freedom struggle and the various phases that it had to go through. Invariably, in most issues, there was a section that covered this aspect. The major contributors to this were former leaders of the student movement and researchers who were studying it.
After a stint of teaching at the Srinagar Garhwal University, Safdar Hashmi, who was in St. Stephen’s College with me earlier, returned to New Delhi by the end of 1983, and joined us at the SFI office. He was instrumental in the technological transition with the arrival of the offset printing of Student Struggle. Commemorating Karl Marx’s 100th death anniversary, Student Struggle brought out a special issue which was the first venture of its nature, but Safdar helped to prepare and produce. He remained with the Student Struggle for some years, later adding to its contents through discussions on various issues connected with art and culture.
NN: How did the journal connect with the larger public, both in terms of contents and circulation?
SY: The range of topics covered by the Student Struggle was a major factor in connecting the journal with people who were no longer students. Issues including interviews with writers and literary giants like Faiz Ahmad Faiz and recollected contributions of Sukanta, Kazi Nasrul Islam, Bertold Brecht, Josh Malihabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Ehsan Danish, or write ups on Ritwik Ghatak, Prem Chand, Rahul Sankrityayan, interviews of renowned artists and theatre personalities like Peter Brook, film makers like Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and many others attracted a much wider readership. Likewise, film reviews and write ups on socialist realism in films by internationally renowned filmmakers also contributed to Student Struggle acquiring a larger readership. Moreover, there was always a section on developments in science and on sporting events, including write ups on legends like Jesse Owens, Muhammed Ali et.al.
NN: How important is it for a movement to have its own publication?
SY: It is extremely important for the student movement to have its own journal. This is not merely to disseminate knowledge and opinions, but to mould collective consciousness that is progressive, emancipatory and for liberation. Besides, the journal — as it informs students of countrywide movements, developments and struggles organised by the SFI — forges a feeling of solidarity that inspires further struggles. It is inevitable that the SFI must continue to have its own journal.
NN: Any interesting experience or challenge that you remember from those days?
SY: Bringing out every issue of the journal those days was treated as a challenge in itself, and this should remain so, as the Student Struggle continues to be a unique publication that covers every aspect that interests or should interest students.
This is part of a series of articles by and interviews with former Student Struggle Editors.
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