Can politics exist without violence in DU?

New Delhi: Delhi University is a not a haven for “riff-raff”, Delhi high court declared on Tuesday, and called for the cessation of all political activities on the campus.

Referring to last year’s alleged assault on the dean and teachers at the Law Faculty, a bench of the court said there was no place for political

violence

in the university. Is a ban on student

politics

the solution to the increasing cases of violent protest? No, say teachers and students. Politics cannot be identified with violence, only with indiscipline.

“We should be free, as citizens, to talk about matters close to us. If a person resorts to violence, the administration must take actions against that person,” said Abha Dev Habib, physics professor at Miranda House. The member of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association added that the power of many is very effective in getting an issue resolved.

“In Punjab University, for example, the students fought against the fee hike and got it reversed. This could not have been done by just one student.”

Her endorsement of campus politics was supported by students, who pointed out that their protests had been successful in bringing about landmark changes such as influencing the discourse on gender violence after the

Nirbhaya

rape case, a roll-back of fee hikes and reversal of reduction of seats in educational institutions. “Students can’t be asked to sit quietly and watch while the authorities have their say. Violence is unjustified and unacceptable, but the right to protest can’t be taken away from the students,” asserted Kamal Talukdar, an MPhil student at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Of course, some students believe that what needs a push is ideological politics rather than electoral politics. “We have many student organisations, such as Pinjra Tod, that fight for issues without eyeing elections,” said Vishal Verma, an MA political science student at DU. “The moment union elections come into play, the focus moves from ideology to vote gathering, and that’s where things get fuzzy.”

A senior DU official concurred on this. “We need to create an environment where students can question and think critically. We need politics, but not for students to act politically,” he said. “They should be taught to question, but not take up party ideology and use violence to stand by it.”

Perpetrators of violence on campuses need to be penalised, advised a faculty member of JNU’s School of Social Sciences. “Resorting to violence not only brings shame to the institution but also projects a bad example to the youth,” said the teacher, who, however, added that this should not prevent process of debate and dialogue, which is the very spirit of an academic institution.

Even as JNUSU president Mohit Pandey said that the absence of politics would smother the voice of students and bring about an undemocratic power structure in academia, former

DUSU

president Amrita Dhawan of the Indian National Congress cautioned that student activism was under threat. “There is suppression of thought on the campus,” she charged. “Even if you aren’t a member of a political outfit, but have an opinion, there are few places where you can speak freely.”

There is consensus that the increase in the politically influenced cases of violence in DU is dismaying, but that is not reason why student politics should be banned. Former students’ union stalwarts say that it is on the campus that future leader form their political thought and learn to fight for common-man issues. And, as some students pointed out, it is not student activism, but its hijacking by political parties that gives campus politics a bad name.