AISA conducted a nation-wide campaign from 5-20 February for student rights, with the slogans, “Stop importing economic Crisis and terror from USA”; “End the Virtual Emergency in Campuses,” and “Restore Student unions and Democracy.” The campaign consisted wide-ranging protests against the anti-student, pro-privatisation policies of the government; the attacks on student unions in campuses all over the country, including the model JNU students’ union; the witch-hunting of students and youth from among the minorities; the issue of sexual harassment and curtailed rights of women on campuses; the Right to Education Bill that actually snatches away the right to education; and the proposal to do away with SC/ST reservations in appointments to faculty positions in ‘premier’ educational institutions in the country. In these protests, students took on the UPA Government and various state Governments for betrayal of students and crackdown on student rights, raising the slogan, “Privatisation of Education is their Goal – Crackdown on Students Unions is their Tool!”

In the national capital on 5 February, hundreds of students from JNU, Jamia, DU and IIMC held a bicycle rally, which covered the respective campuses and then reached Parliament Street via the streets of Delhi. JNUSU President Sandeep Singh, AISA Delhi State Secretary Rajan Pandey, State Vice President Aslam, AISA DU leader Pooja Bhardwaj, Sucheta De among others addressed the gathering. As part of the campaign, various public meetings on the subject of Right to Education Bill, against draconian laws, and against the saffron moral police were held in Delhi Univerity and Jamia Millia Islamia, while at JNU, AISA and the JNUSU spearheaded a struggle against commercialization and environmental degradation of campus spaces, plans to levy ‘user charges’ on electricity in hostels, and fee hikes – moves taken by the Administration at a time when students are challenging the court-imposed stay on the JNUSU elections.

At Uttarakhand on the same day, students from three districts of Uttarakhand gathered in the state capital of Dehradun to hold a dharna, protesting against the current BJP government’s spate of lathi-charges and jail on para teachers, professors, B.Ed.-B.P.Ed trainees and other educational professionals. The dharna was addressed by AISA President Indresh Maikhuri, as well as CPI(ML)’s Garhwal in-charge Kailash Pandey, AISA State Secretary Pawan Nautiyal, and many other student activists. Subsequently, protest programmes were held at Pithoragarh, Srinagar, and Rudrapur.

In Bihar, AISA held torchlight processions all over the state on 6 February. A Bicycle Rally was held at Samastipur. Conventions for Students’ Rights were held at Ara, Patna, Darbhanga, and Bhagalpur between 10-14 February.

In UP, similar conventions were held at Lucknow, Allahabad, Faizabad, Gazipur, Ballia, while the AISA State Conference at Banaras was held on the same theme.

At Punjab, AISA held well-attended effigy-burning programmes at Mansa, Sangrur, Barnala and Moga. Apart from the issues raised nationally, the immediate context of these protests was the move to commercialise the historic Jallianwala Bagh.

At Maharashtra, the campaign was observed with a range of events at Pune, Ahmadnagar, Nandurbar and Dhulia.

The campaign culminated with protest marches at many centres all over the country - scrapping of the Right to Education Bill and ensuring quality schooling for all through neighbourhood schools was a major demand. In UP, a March held at the Vidhan Sabha protested against the instance of police violence against women students earlier in the week. 

BOX:

Colonial legacy re-enacted...

Students and youth belonging to left groups were brutally lathicharged when they held a spirited protest on 12 February at the Jallianwala Bagh against commercialisation moves. Women students were also beaten up badly and arrested. Jallianwala Bagh is the historic site where a massive gathering of people protesting against the British Raj were massacred by General Dyer. The crackdown on student protestors is a fresh reminder that our rulers follow the colonial model in crushing dissent.