Why is the Indian youth angry?
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| Students from the north-eastern states holding a banner highlighting the demands. |
One cold noon of Parliament Street outside Jantar Mantar
witnessed thousands of student-youth from across the country rallying from Lal
Qila. More than 50 youth groups, student unions and organizations came together
for the Young India Adhikar March on 7th February and
stormed the streets demanding education and dignified employment. “Fulfill all
vacant govt. job positions before election or enable unemployment allowance of
Rs 18000 per month; spend at least 10% GDP on education; ensure girls’ hostels
and effective anti-sexual harassment cells; end saffronization of education and
uphold academic freedom; reject 13 point roster system! Fulfill constitutionally
mandated reservations and enact Rohith Act immediately and waive off education
loan” reads a pamphlet distributed prior to the march.
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| Fahdzinjani and his associates from AMU. |
Near the front stage
a tall, elegant man wearing a navabi topi
was waving an unfamiliar green-white-red flag. Fahdzinjani, first year MBA
student from Aligarh Muslim University came to protest with his small group,
said, “If the govt is not ready to give us the data, doesn’t matter, the youth
today is well read and can easily interpret the statistical data and they are
scared of the educated youth.” As their union president M. Salman Imtiaz gets
on the podium to speak, Gautam K., another cabinet member of the union tells us
more on last year’s Jinnah Portrait row at AMU, said “It all started with 2016 JNU row to crush the
voices against the killing of Rohith Vemula and created counter narrative
thinking that they could easily change the narrative but instead the govt. was
crushed as soon as the youth got united. Further, when youth and media started
asking on jobs and cow lynching they chose AMU to divert the real issue.” He
further added, “Portrait was never the issue inside AMU, it’s from decades. We
protested against the saffron goons, who entered inside the guest hall and were
conspiring to kill our Former Vice President Hamid Ansari sahb and instead we were beaten by police to fight against those
goons.”
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| M. Tairaimeniadhan and his students from Tamil Nadu. |
Led by some students from
Jawaharlal Nehru University and the All India Students’ Association and
Revolutionary Youth Association – with both groups affiliated to the Communist
Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) had some contingents of students or student
leaders from over 40 institutions and organisations – including the student and
youth wings of the Aam Aadmi Party, Swaraj India and the Samajwadi Party –
participated in the march. M. Tairaimeniadhan, Professor at Enathi
Rajappa Arts and Science College from Tamil Nadu said, “I’m here to represent
my lakhs of my students who have passed but they only have degree in their
hand, no job. In my state, the profession of agriculture is already in danger
zone and lakhs of acres are being destroyed due to hydrocarbon petro chemicals.
People in the delta region have lost their life security, have lost their
cultivation and have lost their land.”
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| Leaders from different organizations on the front stage. |
Its participants came from states
like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha,
Punjab and Assam. In a statement on behalf of the coordination committee,
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president, N Sai Balaji said the
youth group will “pass resolutions to actively participate in the upcoming
election”. On youth anger he said, “They promised for two crores job but
unemployment rate grew by 6.1%. Thousands of vacancies in education sector are
vacant but they are busy in corporatization of education sector. Further, to
destroy the social fabric of the society they are breaking the reservation
system. Why the youth shouldn’t be angry?”
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| Students with several placards including a poster of revolutionary Bhagat Singh. |
Few girls embracing
some TV anchors “on the field” were also part of this protest. “We were also
part of the organizing committee and we all decided to include the demand of
filling the vacant 24 lakh seats in Education sector. To further enhance
commercialization in the higher education, government (govt.) is taking steps
like giving autonomous status to few universities. This will further shrink the
already less options for poor to study” said Kalyani from Lokayata organization in Pune. Job has been the persistent issue
for every youth today, so thus for these girls. “Rather than creating two
crores jobs there is a fall in one crore jobs. They are even hiding the actual
figures of job creation” she added. On asking whether the aam aadmi cares about the data, Kalyani said, “Data se farak to nahi padta hai lekin sbko apni haalat to pta hi hai.”
(Data doesn’t create much difference but everyone knows about their situation.)
Near the stage a
group of students started shouting in support of their leader as soon as he
takes on dais to speak. Mohammad Ali, Ankit, Suman and few others from Delhi
School of Journalism are fighting for better facilitates at their college for
months. “We are paying around Rs. 65000 per year and have given only one
permanent teacher. As written in prospectus, we are still waiting for a Media
Lab and Library” said Ankit S. “Our VC says that his dream is to make DSJ like
Columbia School of Journalism but we are begging for atleast basic facilities. We
even went for hunger strike few months back but the administration is adamant”
second year student Suman added.
Amidst bursting loud
speakers and mild rain, a fading voice of Chai
Chai was soon more audible. A middle aged, lean man wearing probably, a
longer shirt with a polybag on head offered us tea. Residing from Sambhal in
Uttar Pradesh, Naresh says that he fully understand why there are so many
students here. “I’ve two sons and I want them to do good job. Students here are
asking for employment and no father likes his son to sell tea. Even I’m not a
regular tea seller. I’m a small farmer and came to Delhi for three months to
earn some money and invest that in farming. I’m far away from this never ending
cycle of loans” said Naresh who was kind enough to interact with us despite of
waiting customers.
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| Naresh, the chaiwala with the author. (ALL PHOTOS BY SANJAY) |
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