INTRODUCTION
A student is one who always eager to learn any new skills, subjects, etc. It is synonymously used as discipline . Student plays a very important role in the development of country. They are the future of our society .
During Vedic period, Indian education system comprises each and every aspect of society. After the independence, the advent of western education system has created a class of clerk in our society. But, it also enhances the political system in India. For example, the alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Kanahiya Kumar entered into politics as a youth icon. Unfortunately he raised anti- national slogans in India that is inconsistent with the rules of our constitution. This needs to be changed as , student politics can be seen as a new arena to serve the interests of the country in a more better way. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Lalu prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar , etc. are the best example of past as well as present student politics. Thus, it symbolises that how student politics in India is a lucrative option for our present generation. Hence, students politics is an integral part of our democracy .
HISTORY OF STUDENT PROTEST IN INDIA
Historically speaking, the three major universities of Uttar Pradesh – Banaras, Aligarh and Allahabad – have also been major centers of student unrest and agitation, as pointed out by Subhash Chandra Hazary.
However, one of the first major moments of radical pan-India student politics is the Naxalite movement. What started on May 25, 1967 as a peasant uprising in a small village of West Bengal – Naxalbari – became a byword for revolutionary zeal inspiring an entire generation of students in the late 1960s.
The next milestone for radical student politics was the Emergency. An entire generation of India’s political leaders emerged from the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) movement against the Emergency declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975. Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan are in that sense JP’s children and the very genesis of the JP movement lay in student agitations in Gujarat known as the ‘Navnirman Andolan’ (Reconstruction Movement) in 1974. The movement began due to a hike in hostel food fees in Gujarat colleges and universities. Moved by JP’s call for ‘sampoorna kranti’ (total revolution), a number of students – including the current home minister and prime minister – cut their political teeth during the movement.
The student-backed JP movement was successful in relegating Indira Gandhi to the margins of Indian democracy and installing the first non-Congress government at the center. A September 1977 image of Sitaram Yechury as the JNU Students’ Union leader confronting the then chancellor Indira Gandhi, along with George Fernandes’ defiant pose are some of the iconic images from the period.
The last phase of student movements or agitations chronologically falls within what Khaliq Parkar of JNU calls ‘post-liberalization student movements and agitations’. These include the spate of protests against the CAA and NRC but can be traced to the JNU agitation of February 2016 and the agitation against Rohith Vemula’s suicide at University of Hyderabad. Another major student agitation that led to the creation of a new state was the Telangana movement. Though spearheaded by K. Chandrashekhar Rao and the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), it was largely a student-driven agitation witnessing jail-bharo (fill the jails) campaigns, particularly from Osmania University and University of Hyderabad.
IMPORTANCE OF STUDENT POLITICS
Student politics is important as far as students are concerned. There have been several incidents when campus politics have gone out of control. Things usually turn sour when the management ignores the students when taking decisions on behalf of their welfare and studies. It is the only platform for students to express their issues and opinions. Taking away politics from campus will further alienate them and might lead them to more radical methods.
One thing I noticed in B-schools is that the study environment and what is taught are completely apolitical. This creates students who are completely detached from the country’s realities. This should change. For instance, the general idea propagated in management institutes and among big businesses is that trade unions are bad. They are not taught why these trade unions exist and what the social perspective behind it is.
CONCLUSION
Today, our country is facing a crisis of character. The crisis of rising prices and consequent misery and distress for the lower sections of society and the crisis born of corruption and inefficiency in administration, especially at the higher level, have attained serious proportions. It is high time that our students should come forward to rid the country of corruption and inefficiency and pull her safely out of the crises.
In the prevailing circumstances, it is useless to prevent students from taking part in politics. Moreover, in a democratic set up every citizen must be aware of the political conditions prevailing in the country. The students form a vital part of society.
It can be concluded is that students cannot remain separate from politics. They should take theoretical but intelligent interest in politics so long as their studies are not complete. Afterwards they can take an active part in the political affairs of their country. It is not proper for them to join politics at the cost of their academic interests.
REFERENCES
- www.thewire.in
- www.thehindu.com
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