We are a state where student
politics has been vibrant. There has been moments cherished as well as loathed
while campus politics was at its peak. Many of the current ministers and famous
politicians are products of the vibrant campuses where student politics was the
‘call of the nation’. Hot debates, discussions and hectic campaigns used to
happen in these campuses, from hostels to canteens and even spreading to the streets.
Now things have turned sore. Campus politics has been vehemently equated to
violence and the very democratic struggles of yesteryears have been weighed for
its failures against the extent of violence it generated. And enough was
enough; people at the top have decided to cut the root of the problem. And that
root for them starts at the level of the students. Hence the obvious choice has
been to snap that bud. In a few months from now, we would witness the last of
politics in campuses in Kerala, with the recent ruling by the High Court
banning of campus politics in the state. The State government agreed to the
ruling and have decided to go ahead.Students will be cleansed of what is
perceived as a taboo. Peace will dawn in campuses, students can concentrate on
their studies and will not be forced out of their classes. Quite encouraging
indeed!! But at this juncture we are forced to ask, “Is politics a taboo that
needs cleansing?” If violence is the real issue, why not take measures to stop
that; instead of killing the baby?
Now this decision to cleanse the
campuses is a sensitive one. What has been the reason to justify this new
policy? A crucial point as mentioned earlier isto eliminate violence which has
been used as an instrument to promote political ideals amongst the students.
Violence whether employed by the students or individuals outside the campus or
for that matter the state itself has to be voiced against. But then the
question is how do we do it? Is it justified to eliminate politics to stop violence
or should it be the other way round? Depriving the instrumental nature of
violence in politics has to be explored more thoroughly. Most of you would have
witnessed the ordeals of several students who stayed away from colleges fearing
violence against them if they attended classes. In these cases (and especially
in government colleges) a prime reason for such violence was the manner in
which the management responded to it. At various levels faculty as well as
non-teaching staff stayed away from such incidents.
Violent campuses or Violent students?
Most of this violence occurred in
the spaces allotted for political parties within these campuses (in small rooms
where meetings etc. are held by them). There was a constant fear for students
of these so called ‘unit-rooms’ within the campuses. And sometimes when the
issue is with the State, they proliferate outside campuses and take various
forms on the roads (for people staying in Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala,
such scenes are frequently visited in front of the University College). We can/and
often do blame the political parties for promoting violence amongst students.
The best incentives that they offer to the nascent student is the illusion of
power which would be provided in doses as and when required. But what stake do
these political parties have in the life of the student? We would say that they
don’t have much. But these academic institutions which accommodate the students
do. They are supposed to protect and ensure conduct within it. It is thus a
triangle of three major actors running this drama of violence: the students,
political parties and the academic institutions. Some students respond more to
the incentives of political parties while many to the prospects of better
career. Thus there are two ways in which violence could be controlled. One by
completely eliminating the role of political parties within the campuses; and
the second by incentivizing students to be engaged in academic activity while
in the campus. For us the latter i.e. the task of the state and these academic
institutions to incentivise more students to look forward to a better career
outside minimising the incentives of political parties has been lacking. Promoting
this to an extent can not only lessen violence in the campus but better
education itself. This suggestion was also mooted by Lyngdoh Committee headed
by former election commissioner Shri J.M Lyngdoh. The committee advocated the
need to delink campuses from political parties but sustain student politics as
it was important for building a vigilant citizenry especially in a democratic
country like India. Centre for Public Policy Research had conducted a detailed
study in “Campus Democracy in India” to trace the campus politics existing in
India. The study had interesting findings which supported the need for sustaining
student politics. Majority of the students surveyed supported campus politics
and wanted to have an election based student organisation and believed it to be
the right of the students. At the same time they agreed to disagree with
violent politics in campuses. Majority of them wanted to have an effective redressal
mechanism to tackle such violent politics. However, less than half of the managements
supported student elections or any form of student politics which show a larger
departure from the ideals of students. As stated above, inaction of the college
management often breeds violence and students unrest in campuses. It is
important to have effective mechanisms for redressing student grievances in the
campuses.
Role of Academic Institutions
Another supporting question is where
do our academic institutions lack in incentivizing students? Let’s ask
ourselves the following simple questions.
1. What
is the quality of lectures offered that would promote 100 percent attendance
and an equal 100 percent pass in each of these colleges?
2. Why
are students forced to languish outside classrooms given an opportunity to do
so?
3. Which
of our professors can promise a bright future to each and every student of his
so that this would be the best incentive for them to spend their time in
studies?
4. How
many of our students are regularly supported to earn while they study?
There are many such questions and
all of them would help us to understand that all that our campuses witness is
due to the lack of such guaranteed incentives for our students. How often do we
here about organized violence in Harvard or Cambridge or Princeton or MIT or
for that matter at our reputed IIMs and IITs? The reason ought to be in the
guarantees incentives that come with admission to these institutions. And mind
it these are also the places where politics have had its bitter and better
experiences. So what should we do: Tidy the system of its problems or deprive
students of their firm political standings? The decider’s first need to do a
soul searching before the actual cleansing begins. Most importantly we need to
ask ourselves on what would be the future of politics and
institutions in India if its young brigade stands out or show disinclination in
the system. Banning of campus politics is never an answer, creating the right
systems and opportunities for students to express their thoughts and ideals is
definitely the way ahead. Campus politics exhibit this crucial role and shall
enliven the Indian democracy.
* Authors are members of CPPR
