PaRCha - JNU - AISF-SFI - 2005 ID-38616
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is ~till prevalent within the ~?UI proh!b~ting i.t from taking nn~ P<?sition on the issue of <?BC reserva~on..we challenge the NSUI to take a concrete poslt10n on this tssue Jnstead of hoodwinking the student commuruty through Jts cnminal silence. EXPOSE THE PRO_PO~:E~TS OF NO MANDAL _NO ' KAMAN_DAL: While th~ right-wing forces in this campus aided by the RSS-ABVP-JPF 1S divtding the student .communtty on caste lines, .the AISA 1n yesterday's pamphlet going by its utterly sectru:ian character chose to attack the SFI mstead of these forces. This completely exposes the anti-left politics of AlSA in this campus. While the AISA claiming to be at the forefront of pro-reservation protests, we would challenge the AISA to answer these simple questions: .
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Every left organization in this campus was born in the context of a progressive movement in our country. The AISF was born at the height of the anti-colonial movement, the SFI was born in the context of anti-imperialist movement du1ing the Vietnan: war and again_st the ~emi-fas_cist terror unleashed br the Congress in ~e 1970s. AISA is however an exception to this. It was born~.the 90s dunng the two most .reactionary movements m the country, one against reservation and the other for building the Ram temple at Ayodhya. SFI was the only srudent organization which openly supported the Manda.! recommendation. AISA's slogan at that time was 'No Mandai No Kamandal' through ~hich. it .mo~ilized the most rabidly castcist sections of the studen~ commu~i~y including history sheeters like RaJ T1war.1 who later became a from ABVP. Now that same AISA 1s sermoruztng on the issue of rese.rvacions!l .
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In 1999, immediately after the de bate on Progressive Admission Policy (PAP), a significant section of the AISA activists and leaders left AlSA since influential leadership in AISA did not support 27°/o reservation for OBCs. Has AISA forgotten this bitter truth? .
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During the JNUSU elections of 2004, A.rvind , an AISA activist who was their SIS panel in-charge harassed a dalit ~tudent of SIS who ~as also an ~SAcan~idate on cast~ lines. Why has not AISA taken any action against its activist who had abused 1ts O'\vn Councillor cand1datc on caste lines? .
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Last year~s Vice-Presidential candidate of AISA, Kanika Singh, rnisbehaved and insulted a faculty mem ber of CSSS with an o'rert caste connotations in front of the whole class. 'What brand of revolutionary politics is this? .
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.
In the course of the ongoing debate on reservations for OBCs, the JNUSU, organized a Public Meeting, ·a day long convention and a demonstration at Janta.r mantar. In all these activities of the JNUSU, the participation ofAISA did not cross three, one less than the four letters in AISA. So much for their seriousness on the issue of OBC .
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reservation. , .
WHERE ARE THE AISA LEAPERS AND THE JNUSU PRESIDENT? .
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Maintaining her earlier record, JNUSU President is again absent from campus when such an important issue of national importance is being thoroughly debated in the campus. Even after all the incident of violence took place., she did not deem it fit to come back to the campus to clarify her position. She did not even inform the students of her una.vailabiliry beforehand. It is only when her organization decided to sit for a Hunger Strike, she chose to send a fax to the student .
community saying that she is busy with her academic commitments in Bangalore. It has become habitual on the part of JNUSU President to communicate with the students who have elected her to the coveted post through media or fax. We would also like to ask whether her academic commitment is more worthwhile than that of other office bearers and other political activists of the campus? Do the students of the campus who are fighting for the cause of social justice and reservation do not have any academic commitJ.nent? Such crass assertions of careerism do not befit aJNUSU President. It is the tradition of JNUSU Presidents to uphold d1e interests of the students and the people of the country above all individual interests. The present JNUSU President is doing dishonour lo the other JNUSU Presidents who have played and still playing exemplary role .in left politics and for the advancement of the people by citing her narrow interests as an excuse for being absent from campus on such an important issue. Shame!! [n order to hide the embarrassment of the JNUSU President's absence, the AISA has started a Hunger Strike in the campus. Both these Hunger Strikes are completely irrelevant in JNU since rhe decision rests with the Government and not the JNU Administration. On the other hand this is nothing but ero ding the authority and legitimacy of the JNUSU, unfortunately taking place at the hands of those who are leading the JNUSU. .
\YJe are however waiting for an other set of fax from the AlSA leaders Awadesh Tripat:h.i and Sandeep Singh regarding their academic or other commitments who have disappeared from campus since the morning of 19th may, the day Youth for (In)Equality organized its March. AISA's notice proclaiming their Exposill'e tour explicitly mentions that Sandeep Singh can be contacted till 25th may for the tour. However, he along with Awadhcsh vanished from campus since the morning of 19th May. The disappearance of the entire senior leadership of AISA during this issue is to facilitate their alliance with the reactionary sections of the campus like the JPF, which they had done last year. This is in continuation with their politics in West Bengal where the celebrated naxil leader Ashim Chatterjee contested elections from T.cinamool dus year. This only .
exposes the bankruptcy of the naxal brand of politics in the country. AISA's tirades against the left in West Bengal continues in this issue too. The comments ascribed to Com. Biman Bose quoted from the Telegraph are misrepresented and inco.rrect. Com. Bose had only articulated the CPI(M)'s position that seats should also be increased while implementing the reservation for OBCs. AISA behaving as agents of the botttgeois mecfut is propagating the incorrect quote ascribed to Com. Biman Bose. In the Assembly elections in Bengal, the Left under the leadership of Com. Bose has achieved a historic victory '.vith the conunon people in Bengal, pa.rticulacly from the deprived sections, voting overwhelmingly for the Left. AISA's accusations against the Left in Bengal are nothing but a me.re echo of the slander campaign of the Trinatnool Congress and the media jn West Bengal. The Left has always been at the forefront of the struggles for social justice aimed at an e~tlitarian India. The issue of reservation and spending 6°/o of GDP on highcr education is a part of the CMP of the present UPA governtnent on the insistence of the left forces. Even in 1989-90; it was the Left supported Government ofV.P. Singh which implemented the Mandai Commission report. Even now it is the pressll!'e from the left and many other constirucnts of the uPA that cotnpelled the Congress led government to in1plement 27o/o OBC reservation without dilution. Instead of attacking the left, AISA should focus its energy on bringing back the JNUSU President to rhe campus. We appeal to the student con1mun.ity to expose the casteist politics ofRSS-ABVP-JPF and the opportunist politics ofNSUl and AlSA .
Sd/-Subhanil Chowdhury, Secretary, SFI-JNU Sd/-Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, President, SFI-JNU .
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PaRCha - JNU - AISF-SFI - 2005 ID-38616
.
-.
.
is ~till prevalent within the ~?UI proh!b~ting i.t from taking nn~ P<?sition on the issue of <?BC reserva~on..we challenge the NSUI to take a concrete poslt10n on this tssue Jnstead of hoodwinking the student commuruty through Jts cnminal silence. EXPOSE THE PRO_PO~:E~TS OF NO MANDAL _NO ' KAMAN_DAL: While th~ right-wing forces in this campus aided by the RSS-ABVP-JPF 1S divtding the student .communtty on caste lines, .the AISA 1n yesterday's pamphlet going by its utterly sectru:ian character chose to attack the SFI mstead of these forces. This completely exposes the anti-left politics of AlSA in this campus. While the AISA claiming to be at the forefront of pro-reservation protests, we would challenge the AISA to answer these simple questions: .
.
Every left organization in this campus was born in the context of a progressive movement in our country. The AISF was born at the height of the anti-colonial movement, the SFI was born in the context of anti-imperialist movement du1ing the Vietnan: war and again_st the ~emi-fas_cist terror unleashed br the Congress in ~e 1970s. AISA is however an exception to this. It was born~.the 90s dunng the two most .reactionary movements m the country, one against reservation and the other for building the Ram temple at Ayodhya. SFI was the only srudent organization which openly supported the Manda.! recommendation. AISA's slogan at that time was 'No Mandai No Kamandal' through ~hich. it .mo~ilized the most rabidly castcist sections of the studen~ commu~i~y including history sheeters like RaJ T1war.1 who later became a from ABVP. Now that same AISA 1s sermoruztng on the issue of rese.rvacions!l .
.
.
In 1999, immediately after the de bate on Progressive Admission Policy (PAP), a significant section of the AISA activists and leaders left AlSA since influential leadership in AISA did not support 27°/o reservation for OBCs. Has AISA forgotten this bitter truth? .
.
.
During the JNUSU elections of 2004, A.rvind , an AISA activist who was their SIS panel in-charge harassed a dalit ~tudent of SIS who ~as also an ~SAcan~idate on cast~ lines. Why has not AISA taken any action against its activist who had abused 1ts O'\vn Councillor cand1datc on caste lines? .
.
.
Last year~s Vice-Presidential candidate of AISA, Kanika Singh, rnisbehaved and insulted a faculty mem ber of CSSS with an o'rert caste connotations in front of the whole class. 'What brand of revolutionary politics is this? .
.
.
In the course of the ongoing debate on reservations for OBCs, the JNUSU, organized a Public Meeting, ·a day long convention and a demonstration at Janta.r mantar. In all these activities of the JNUSU, the participation ofAISA did not cross three, one less than the four letters in AISA. So much for their seriousness on the issue of OBC .
.
.
.
reservation. , .
WHERE ARE THE AISA LEAPERS AND THE JNUSU PRESIDENT? .
.
Maintaining her earlier record, JNUSU President is again absent from campus when such an important issue of national importance is being thoroughly debated in the campus. Even after all the incident of violence took place., she did not deem it fit to come back to the campus to clarify her position. She did not even inform the students of her una.vailabiliry beforehand. It is only when her organization decided to sit for a Hunger Strike, she chose to send a fax to the student .
community saying that she is busy with her academic commitments in Bangalore. It has become habitual on the part of JNUSU President to communicate with the students who have elected her to the coveted post through media or fax. We would also like to ask whether her academic commitment is more worthwhile than that of other office bearers and other political activists of the campus? Do the students of the campus who are fighting for the cause of social justice and reservation do not have any academic commitJ.nent? Such crass assertions of careerism do not befit aJNUSU President. It is the tradition of JNUSU Presidents to uphold d1e interests of the students and the people of the country above all individual interests. The present JNUSU President is doing dishonour lo the other JNUSU Presidents who have played and still playing exemplary role .in left politics and for the advancement of the people by citing her narrow interests as an excuse for being absent from campus on such an important issue. Shame!! [n order to hide the embarrassment of the JNUSU President's absence, the AISA has started a Hunger Strike in the campus. Both these Hunger Strikes are completely irrelevant in JNU since rhe decision rests with the Government and not the JNU Administration. On the other hand this is nothing but ero ding the authority and legitimacy of the JNUSU, unfortunately taking place at the hands of those who are leading the JNUSU. .
\YJe are however waiting for an other set of fax from the AlSA leaders Awadesh Tripat:h.i and Sandeep Singh regarding their academic or other commitments who have disappeared from campus since the morning of 19th may, the day Youth for (In)Equality organized its March. AISA's notice proclaiming their Exposill'e tour explicitly mentions that Sandeep Singh can be contacted till 25th may for the tour. However, he along with Awadhcsh vanished from campus since the morning of 19th May. The disappearance of the entire senior leadership of AISA during this issue is to facilitate their alliance with the reactionary sections of the campus like the JPF, which they had done last year. This is in continuation with their politics in West Bengal where the celebrated naxil leader Ashim Chatterjee contested elections from T.cinamool dus year. This only .
exposes the bankruptcy of the naxal brand of politics in the country. AISA's tirades against the left in West Bengal continues in this issue too. The comments ascribed to Com. Biman Bose quoted from the Telegraph are misrepresented and inco.rrect. Com. Bose had only articulated the CPI(M)'s position that seats should also be increased while implementing the reservation for OBCs. AISA behaving as agents of the botttgeois mecfut is propagating the incorrect quote ascribed to Com. Biman Bose. In the Assembly elections in Bengal, the Left under the leadership of Com. Bose has achieved a historic victory '.vith the conunon people in Bengal, pa.rticulacly from the deprived sections, voting overwhelmingly for the Left. AISA's accusations against the Left in Bengal are nothing but a me.re echo of the slander campaign of the Trinatnool Congress and the media jn West Bengal. The Left has always been at the forefront of the struggles for social justice aimed at an e~tlitarian India. The issue of reservation and spending 6°/o of GDP on highcr education is a part of the CMP of the present UPA governtnent on the insistence of the left forces. Even in 1989-90; it was the Left supported Government ofV.P. Singh which implemented the Mandai Commission report. Even now it is the pressll!'e from the left and many other constirucnts of the uPA that cotnpelled the Congress led government to in1plement 27o/o OBC reservation without dilution. Instead of attacking the left, AISA should focus its energy on bringing back the JNUSU President to rhe campus. We appeal to the student con1mun.ity to expose the casteist politics ofRSS-ABVP-JPF and the opportunist politics ofNSUl and AlSA .
Sd/-Subhanil Chowdhury, Secretary, SFI-JNU Sd/-Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, President, SFI-JNU .
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