The JNUSU has called for a General Body Meeting (GBM) of SSS

on 21 October to elect the Convenor of the School. At the GBM,

it is urgent that the student community stand against corporate-
communal fascism that has once again forcefully reared its
ugly head and in favour of a socially sensitive, inclusive and
democratic politics, for policy-level changes enabling inclusion,
better infrastructure and facilities. It is not merely a question
of numbers: it is in fact a question of once again choosing the
politics of positive activism and unbroken track record of
ensuring progressive policy-level changes for social inclusion
over negativism and betrayals.
In the past month, JNUSU successfully resisted the JNU
administrations attempts to scuttle MCM scholarships by
demanding mandatory PAN cards of parents. JNUSU also
resisted DoSs exclusionary move to push out students with
academic gap years from P1 to P2/P3 categories in hostel
allotment, while carrying forward the struggle for hostels,
expansion of facilities in Damodar hostel and for better
infrastructure, transport, health centre, sports facilities and
wi-fi.
Since 2012, we have fought for and ensured several concrete
achievements in SSS: The process of photocopying important
books in the CPS library has been initiated, the various
departmental libraries in SSS have been linked to the Central
Library, SSS Samvad a cultural festival for SSS was initiated, a
projector was set up in the SSS auditorium, visually challenged
students in the MPhil programme in CHS now do not have to
take the language optional after JNUSU-SSSs intervention, the
entrance exams for economics, population studies and
geography in CSRD are now held on separate dates so as to
enable more choices for students.
With absolutely NO support from organisations such as SFI, we
have fought for several policy level changes such as, for an
autonomous Open Access JNU Press, ongoing struggle for
reduction in weightage of viva voce and setting up of a
translation cell.
In the days to come, several more issues have to be
addressed in SSS:
The process of photocopying books in the CPS library has
to be expanded. Ensuring photocopied books has to be
ensured in CSSS, CSRD and other SSS departmental
libraries.
To address the language barrier, making available
translations of basic readings and texts, setting up of a
translation cell have to be ensured, and the existing systems
of remedial and tutorial classes has to be strengthened.
Adequate reading material in electronic format has to be
ensured for VH students.
A vibrant culture of debate, dissent and discussion has to
strengthened in SSS, through meetings, debates, film
screenings etc. SSS Samvad which we initiated last year
can be expanded.
The long-standing demand of issuing books from various
DSA libraries has to be ensured.
Common rooms and 24x7 reading halls have to be ensured.
Trackrecord of CPI(M)-SFIs Betrayals on Social
Justice and Communalism
Let us take a closer look at SFI and CPI(M)s repeated
betrayals in the fight against communalism. Does
the SFI have any response to these damning facts?
As many as TWO of SFIs Central Panel candidates in the
recently conducted Hyderabad Central University (HCU)s
student union elections openly espoused right-wing
politics. The VP candidate wrote on facebook OPPOSING
and ridiculing reservations. And the Gen. Secy candidate
was an ardent supporter of Modi, once again known
through his facebook posts. This Gen. Sec candidate had
till May 2014 been an active Sanghi activist, Bajrang Dal
leader and member of an anti-reservation front!
CPI(M)s Malayalam and Bengali party newspapers regularly
publish full-page ads of the Modi Government of Gujarat
and ads praising the RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay!
In 2002, SFI secretly signed an infamous compromise deed
with the ABVP in the Vasant Vihar thana in 2002, betraying
the efforts to bring ABVP perpetrators of violence to justice.
CPI(M)s Polit Bureau member and former CM
Achuthanandan raised the bogey of conversion to Islam,
love jehad and population increase in 2010. Today, as
we fight the ABVPs love jihad, should we not isolate such
voices who WILL NOT challenge ABVPs communal common
sense?
In 2002-03, CPI(M)s then W Bengal CM Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya raised the bogey of illegal Bangladeshi
infiltrators that Modi is raising today. In the wake of the
bomb blast at the American Centre in Kolkata in January
2002, CPI(M)s then W Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
declared madarsas to be ISI dens.
SFI and CPI(M) have repeatedly claimed that the movement
in Nandigram is not a farmers protest against eviction but
a result of communal propaganda spread by Jamaat ie.,
Muslim fundamentalist gropus (Indian Express 8-9 Jan
2007).
Opportunistic or pragmatic communalism by so-called
secular and Left CPIM-SFI type parties and student groups
only strengthen the programmatic communal fascism of the
RSS-BJP.
On questions of social justice and progressive
policy-level changes for social inclusion too, SFI has an
equally DUBIOUS track record!
Will SFI answer:
Why is it that SFI-led JNUSUs between 1983-92 did nothing
to restore deprivation points in JNU Admissions and
deprivation points were restored only when AISA won the
JNUSU for the first time in 1993?
Why is it that the SFI refused to recognize the role of the
faulty cut-off in scuttling OBC reservations? How come,
in that crucial period between 2008-2010, it was only
AISA and AISA-led JNUSU that recognized the cut-off issue,
and campaigned single-handedly politically and legally,
despite virulent opposition from SFI and Co.?
aisa aisa
Stand by AISA in the SSS Convenor Election for a
Socially Sensitive, Inclusive SSS and JNU !
Reject the Forces Who Have Always Betrayed the Struggles for
Progressive Socially Inclusive Policies!
P.T.O.
The SSS classrooms are large, so microphones and collar
phones have to be provided.
More functional water coolers have to be ensured.
An active and effective Grievance Redressal cell for SSS has
to be ensured.
Academic writing workshops can be initiated.
Mandatory gender modul es in various academic
programmes have to be ensured.
The process of ensuring fellowships has to be streamlined
and made speedy.
Sanitation in canteens and bathrooms has to be ensured
and we have to defend the rights of sanitation workers in
JNU.
Struggle for Reduction of Viva-Weightage
Over the past few years, the demand for reduction in weightage
of viva marks in JNUs entrance exam has emerged as a crucial
concern. JNUSU is currently pursuing a crucial expensive legal
battle in the Supreme Court. Throughout this struggle, the SFI
has had NO role to play. It has contributed ZERO funds for this
struggle; neither has it contributed in ANY constructive manner.
Clearly, the SFI has NO interest in this battle for social justice.
During the recently conducted JNUSU elections, this demand
for reduction in viva voce weightage SIMPLY DISAPPREARED
from SFIs manifesto! Not just this, during the Presidential
Debate this year, SFIs Presidential candidate spoke against
JNUSUs ongoing legal struggle and blatantly defended SFI
betrayal of this crucial struggle for social justice.
Whether it is the struggle for reduction in weightage of viva
voce, or the demand for a translation cell, in all these struggles,
the SFI has been conspicuous by its absence. SFIs track record
on the viva voce struggle is NO ABERRATION. Over the years,
they have time and again betrayed struggles for all socially
inclusive policies in the campus. (see box)
At this crucial juncture, we need SSS team to be led by a
Convenor who will NOT dump and betray crucial struggles in
SSS, in JNU and in the larger society. We appeal to the student
community to reject SFI for their historical betrayal of all key
pro-student policy issues in JNU.
Firmly Against Mounting Assaults of Communal
Fascism
Over the past month, AISA and JNUSU have consistently been
campaigning against ABVP and RSSs communal hate and riot
mongering intervening not just in JNU but also to prevent a
communal flare-up in Bawana just before the Id festival. SSS
councilor Rama Naga was in fact part of the first team from JNU
which visited Bawana to diffuse the volatile communal situation.
When ABVP violently disrupted a public meeting in JNU on the
Mahishasur Shahadat Di was, JNUSU resisted all these
attempts to curb discussion and dissent tooth and nail, even
while pointing out the limitations of the Mahishasur imagery
propagated by the Forward Press and AIBSF. AISA and JNUSU
have been running a campaign exposing the communal and
patriarchal intent and content behind ABVPs love jihad lies.
The JNUSU General Secretary from AISA also went to Bhojpur in
solidarity with the ongoing struggle there against the gang rape
of six Dalit women, including minors, by a former area
commander of the Ranveer Sena.
Why was SFI completely absent from the struggle against
delinking of the BA programme in SL?
During the protracted struggle against the high viva voce
weightage, why did SFI not make ANY monetary
contribution, despite agreeing to do so in an all-
organisation meeting called by JNUSU last year?
Why was SFI completely absent from the struggle for
recognizing madarsa certificates in JNU, a policy-level
change brought in the AISA-led JNUSU in 2008? SFIs only
contribution to this struggle was to demobilize and
spread canards against JNUSUs efforts!
Yes, SFI does have policy-level interventions:
They betrayed the 1989-90 JNUSU (led by a non-SFI left
group Solidarity) in the 1990 UGBM, by abstaining on
the JNUSU resolution supporting Mandal Commission
in toto and thus defeating the pro-Mandal resolution
of JNUSU. This led to the resignation of a pro-Mandal
JNUSU!
They introduced corporate takeover of campus spaces by
starting a Nestle Outlet (in 2002-03). In 2004-05, AISA-
led JNUSU gave voice to the anti-corporatization spirit
of the campus and demanded immediate scrapping of
the Nestle outlet. In the historic UGBM during January
2005, 544 students voted against the Nestle outlet, while
SFI with 114 cadres stood in shameful defence of Nestle
!
They betrayed and dissociated from the workers
struggles and demanded proctorial enquiry on students
who were protesting against violations of workers rights
(in 2007) !
They betrayed and tried to scuttle the struggle for
scrapping delinking and reducing viva weightage
(during 2012-13)!
The SFI has nothing to show and much to hide. Therefore
they resort to endless slander of AISA to hide their own
shameful track record. Even in the past free months, we
have seen SFI spread all sorts of canards regarding denying
of hostels to 9b students, and regarding our struggle against
denying hostel facilities through pushing academic gap year
students to P2/P3 category. This SFI sponsored slander is
not just a slander against the AISA-led JNUSU: it is an attempt
to deny and discredit these crucial struggles and
achievements for social justice, inclusion and democracy.
We appeal to you to defeat this politics of betrayals, lies,
slander and negativism and to strengthen AISA-led JNUSUs
struggles in the days to come.
We appeal to SSS students to
Vote for Rama Naga as SSS
Convenor in the SSS GBM on 21 Oct at
SSS Parking lot from 10.30 am.
Ensure a JNUSU which is committed to a democratic,
anti-communal, socially inclusive campus and society.
Shweta Raj, President, AISA, JNU Geeta Kumari, Jt. Secy, AISA, JNU