Certain wise men sat with their thinking caps on and decided that students getting involved in politics was the very epitome of a society that was losing its head. “Is this the future of the country”, they asked. “They ought to be studying as long as they are bonafide students. It is for those who have attained maturity and not for those who are prone to knee – jerk reactons”, they sermonized. Desperate parents and other well – wishers who have had enough of their children being beaten up on the streets for causes of which they knew nothing hooked on to the words of these men. Our very respectable politicians have, for decades, shown us the path of depravity and surely, none can blame the parents and guardians for the grave conclusions they reached. No sooner than a social atmosphere which frowned at students in politics was created, managements took to curbing the rights of student bodies with unwarranted glee. Our courts all over the country competed with each other in banning students’ union elections altogether; of course, all in the name of protecting the impressionable minds of our children. To be fair to everyone concerned, there was much hue and cry against such moves when they were first proposed. But, our courts being almighty, coupled with our newly aroused concern for our youngsters meant that such token protests were only given the attention that they demanded.
And, the dust settled on us and our new reforms. Lo and behold! There was a new world before us. Our students could now safely be sent to their institutions without the fear of them returning with a limb decapitated or worse, not returning at all. Finally, they were studying something and was thinking about the future. The parents were happy and the managements were happy. And the students? Without the distractions of yesteryear they stuck to their studies, or found distractions of a new ilk.
Many years later, as the effects of the reforms slowly started manifesting there rose a murmur of dissatisfaction in some quarters. Suddenly, there were questions in the line of “What has happened to the youngsters these days?” and comments in the common theme of “The students these days are no longer interested in the happenings around them”. More wise voices quipped, “What is to become of our country if the youth themselves are so unconcerned?”
Students of our country, who once led the struggle for independence were replaced by students who were fighting it out to make the cut in a competitive world. Fearful for their future, the parents could do nothing but provide all means for their ward in this mindless competition. A depoliticized campus catering to the never ending needs of the market meant that the ‘world outside’ remained just that. An apathy to politics rose in our younger generation too.
Here too we must not forget to thank our politicians for their influence and the examples they set us each day.
The effects of these changes are there for all to see. Private managements have evolved in to draconian regimes all over the country. The government institutions where politics still find any sort of voice, is divided on the worst of casteist and sectarian lines. Is it of any surprise that in such a situation even the ever increasing fees meets with no protest from the student community? Not even the clearly harmful education Bills of recent times find a space for discussion in the campus these days. If the students fail to see all the effects that political policies bring about on their academic life, it is only natural that they will tend to live the rest of their lives oblivious of the effects of the political policies on their lives. Even accounting for other socio – economic and political factors which have led to this apathy, one cannot discount the fact that weakening the political system of the students led to the taking away of the greatest strength that it afforded them – the voice of protest.
But there is still hope as demonstrated by the widespread participation of youth, including students in the protests that sieged the country of late. Again, it is only natural that such protests will only surge in numbers in the coming years because life teaches many harsh realities that are often not taught during formal education. In the meanwhile, it is for us to ponder whose interests were served when we depoliticized our campuses.
