Let students think. Let them make their own choice. Do not ridicule their dissent as ‘dirty politics’. Of course, they have to know that violence in any form is disallowed. But to the intelligent, physical violence is redundant anyway.
Can we consider a person’s intellect well developed if that person is not aware of different national level political ideologies or does not have any opinion regarding what is happening around them? If they are aware and touched by political developments around them, and feel strongly about a cause, can we ask them to keep their mouths shut?
Among the student community in research institutes, a sense of moral superiority in the fact that one is protesting could easily arise and in my opinion does arise. This is sheer nonsense. Protests are held for change, not so that you can look good in a photo and then reminisce about it twenty years later. Or make cool sounding noises when you pass each other in the halls.
The students/youth fought for freedom, democracy and secular values during the freedom struggle. They defended these values even after independence, whenever they perceived any threat like they did against the imposition of emergency in 1975. Bhagat Singh and the political values he bequeathed, should be the guiding spirit for students and the youth today. It is an opportune moment to rebuild an India Bhagat Singh aspired for.
Too often, there are suggestions to confer some kind of elevated moral standing to student politics. This is insulting both to students and to other citizens of India. This is because fundamental rights by their very definition apply to every citizen and no one citizen can claim that their fundamental rights are morally superior to that of another.
We should not be surprised if we find the engagement with the world and society of many great souls, from Nachiketa to Gandhi, was marked by questioning and conscientious disobedience.
Campus agitations (and now campus violence) are a consequence of the breakdown of communications between the administration and the student body, not the cause. Especially after months of a lack of communication, patience can wear thin. When one hears the different sides of the story, it can seem like a contemporary re-enactment of Rashomon, and a slightly fantastic one at that.
Students need to and have to actively engage in [the] dynamic process of contestations, tensions, enquiry, discovery and re-discovery if they have to co-create knowledge and uphold the ‘desired’ values. Participation and protests are indeed an essential part of this process, and such education is critical for an evolving society that cherishes and aspires for democracy, equality, secularism, justice and freedom.
Students and youth have always been in the forefront of any viable movement, and they will always be. The sooner we accept it, the better.
Should students take part in political protests? Some people think yes, others disagree. But why this difference of opinion and what might happen when students take part in such protests? Gauhar Raza examines the issue and feels that “When students come out on streets, their banking system of education gets disrupted and they are likely to acquire the ability to become catalysts for social change and, more importantly, question the balance of power.”
