Revive campus politics, let youngsters thrive: Students

Bengaluru: Recent events at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have kindled a debate among students in the state on bringing back campus unions, which have been banned for over two decades now.

While some student leaders said a strong union is essential to highlight unreported cases on campuses, others said it will help bring out positive changes in educational reforms.

Mr Manjunath H.S., state president, NSUI, the student wing of Congress, it is high time the state government realised that the dearth of “youthful and thoughtful” leaders can be bridged only by allowing student politics back at varsities.

“We wrote to the CM and the education minister last year after the JNU issue, but we did not receive any response. The need for campus elections and student leaders from the grassroots levels is growing and these demands cannot be ignored anymore,” he said. Criticising the student councils that are formed by various managements “for namesake,” he said that a campus election over a management’s selection is always preferred.

Drawing references to the current state and central ministries, he said, “Leaders, including D.K. Shivakumar, R. Roshan Baig and Ananthkumar, got a chance to prove their mettle at the campus level and it should be open to the current student community as well.”

If the reason to ban campus politics is violence, then why are parliamentary and legislative elections which lead to bigger violence and other illegal activities not stopped, asks Ravinandan B.B., state vice-president, AIDSO, the student wing of Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist).

“Law and order officials should take responsibility to avoid such problems, instead of calling off the entire system. This is similar to a person cutting off his nose to spite the face,” he said.

On active student politics on campuses in Kerala, Sangeeth K., a postgraduate student at a private college in the city, said, “Students there know how the varsity works and whom to approach for every student-related issue. I was more aware of what was happening around when I was studying there and that helped me form strong opinions on all contemporary issues.”