You cannot depoliticise the students and make the student unions debating clubs. Students will have to be inculcated with political values and must be trained in sound democratic principles.
I did my degree course in three different colleges in Chennai. By now, you will understand as to why anybody should do a 1+ 3 year course in 3 different colleges? It was mostly due to the fact that I was an activist in a left wing student movement and also a student leader in the early 80’s. At that time some colleges used to have student union elections by conducting a general election, some colleges used to nominate its student leader or make a representative body electing the student union leader.
The Madras University had a students’ union representing all affiliated colleges. A small fee used to be collected from all the students for the purpose of running the association. Even the playground at Chetpet is called as University Union Grounds.
However, since the University student’s Union became a battle ground for many political parties, who have its representative to become an office bearer and inconvenient questions were asked in its meeting, the University stopped conducting elections but however the fee for Union is still being collected!
During 1965, the students who led the anti-Hindi agitation became mass leaders and some of them got elected to the House.
Some became even ministers. But sooner the DMK came to power in 1967 there were widespread student agitations all over TN which was in tune with the youth unrest spread all over the world starting from the Paris Student Revolt. Though the DMK came up with a thumping majority, most of the student unions in city colleges were captured by students belonging to Congress (old) led by Kamaraj. It was the early 70s which saw some political activities. The politics of students was given up and it took to petty rivalries and the frequent clashes over the gaining leadership over bus routes (to gain the status of a “route thala”).
All these developments were because the government colleges lost their sheen and democratic method of functioning was given up. The college has no business to change the election mode. As regards violence, there are enough methods to insulate the student union elections, from ending up into a violent battle.
Unlike in the past, the students are today voters in the general election, thanks to the Constitutional amendment. In the past we used to have mock parliaments to have a feel of participating in the legislative proceedings.
Today that is not the situation. A student leader can get elected to the legislative bodies. Therefore proper formation of student unions and conducting its poll smoothly will go a long way in training the students for proper leadership.
The Lyngdoh Committee Report on students Union Elections went into the issue and did not recommend abolition of such elections. Each political party, realising the potential of students, has always attempted to influence the outcome of the student union elections. Even if a student does not get elected, his commitment to political ideas has made him to grow into a future leader.
Today, maybe, the insecurity of potential unemployment makes the students to turn away from active politics and pursue a career path. My opinion is that in suppressing the student’s democratic activities by college managements there is not much of a difference in the last 50 years. The only difference is today’s students activities have less of politics and more of local and personal issues. But, however healthy student politics is a need of the hour and in many countries the student movement had driven away corrupt political oligarchies.
(Justice K. Chandru is a retired judge of the Madras high court)
