Student Unions in India and their Role.
“Those who refuse to participate in politics are destined to be ruled by their inferiors”
-PLATO
In India particularly, politics gets considered as a ‘taboo’. Many consider to refrain themselves from the world of politics. When in school or pursuing higher studies, parents are one of the many firsts to advice- “do not indulge in politics”. But, in the process, many forget that the ‘Youth’ or the ‘Students’ are the future of any country. And a country like India vigorously needs the youth to stand up and lead the nation ahead.
Student Unions: Platform to Transform Politics
The students need a floor to set the ball rolling. A ‘student union’ is nothing but a platform for the students interested in politics and play a vital role when it comes to student governance. The student union’s history in India dates to around the time of independence. Since the Congress dominance era, many unions came to life and developed a complex tradition of student politics. These unions are mainly affiliated to the political parties with overlapping ideologies. As a result, they actively participate in any current crisis and especially those related to students.
Some of the well-known student unions in India are:
- ABVP (Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad)
- NSUI (National Students Union of India)
- AISA (All India Student’s Association)
- BSSF (Bahujan Samaj Student’s Forum)
- KSU (Kerala Students Union)
- Chhatra Bharati
- All India Sikh Student’s Federation
- Trinamool Chhatra Parishad
The ABVP is politically and constitutionally affiliated to the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). It is popularly known as the student wing of the BJP. Also, it is the largest student’s body around the globe. NSUI is the Congress’ student’s wing, and that of the Communists, AISA. Under the Congress’ affiliation also comes the KSU.
Student unions are nurseries of leadership that help the students in their own capacity make the change needed. This was the initial thought process behind unions being formed. As of today, it is not the only thing, but also to showcase the show of strength. The political parties use the students as a means to show the power they have over a particular varsity.
Last year’s issue at the JNU sparked off a massive debate. The whole controversy termed many students ‘anti-national’. This has made one wonder whether the different sets of ideologies that settle together under one roof will lead to more such sensitive issues and harming of one’s sentiments. This issue particularly too got politically motivated as many politicians made a beeline at the varsity. This is an attempt to score some points over the other parties.
The roles of various unions can be discerned by taking JNU in focus.
During the ruckus, many people had branded the students of JNU as ‘anti-national’, ‘pro-Pakistan’. Therefore, many also accused them of misusing the taxpayers’ money by indulging in such activities. The fight was between two ideologies. One side was the ABVP’s right ideology and other unions on the other making the left stronger. The political sides’ involvement too was evident. The whole narrative of student unions changed with the JNU incident.
Another was the Rohith Vemula suicide case. As they made headlines for several days, these two incidents shook the nation. The BJP on both the cases was on the back-foot. After all, these played a crucial role and shook up the politicians like Bandaru Dattatreya in the Vemula case. The moot point of student unions is to tell the administration something not accepted by the society. It also helped in overturning many decisions by protesting against the same. The third example to bring to notice here is the one from Kerala.
The Kerala Students Union had declared an ‘Education-Band’ in March this year. This was in response to the police action on the KSU workers who marched on Monday to Health Minister K.K. Shylaja’s house in protest against the increase in private medical college fee. In a press release, the KSU said that the police had remanded six of its leaders and condemned the action, protests followed.
These were just some of the recent incidents to happen. They showed how the student unions brought the politicians or the political parties to their knees. In a country where College campuses are considered apolitical, student unions prove to be the best bet to nurture the youth for the upcoming difficult situations.
