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ABVP Releases its Manifesto for DUSU Elections 2019

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Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has released their 2019-20 manifesto for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.

ABVP has released their 2019-20 manifesto for the DUSU elections, with the vision that when the University of Delhi (DU) celebrates its centenary year in 2022, it should be in among the top 200 universities in the world, and must top the NIRF rankings. The manifesto puts emphasis on the 5Ps-

  • Parisar (Campus)
  • Pathyakram (Course)
  • Pravesh (Admission)
  • Pareeksha (Examination)
  • Parinam (Result)

 

  • Parisar (Campus): Demands for state-of-the-art infrastructure and other facilities that are important to support students in higher education.
  1. ABVP initiated a campaign for “Paryavaran Yukt- Nasha Mukt” Parisar.
  2. ABVP demands a plastic-free, smoke-free, and safe and secure campus.
  3. ABVP stands firm on its commitment towards sports students of the University.
  4. New colleges should be opened with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
    1. University stadium, polo grounds and other sports ground should be [accessible] before all students.
    2. Diet rates for sports students should be increased in line with the price index. Attendance relaxation should be given to sports personnel and ECA students.
  • High-class sports’ equipment should be provided to students.
  1. We demand special assistance for sports personnel and ECA students.
  1. New hostels should be opened by the University.
  2. The overall infrastructure of the University should [be] improved and modernised, especially Tagore Hall, and Shankar Hall.
  3. We would also struggle for the establishment of East and West campuses.
  4. We would demand more beds at the university medical centre.
  5. We would try to get the Central and Arts Library fully digitised.
  6. We reiterate our long-standing demand to have one sports complex in the South Campus.
  7. Photocopy, scanner and printer shop should be in all colleges.
  8. We are also dedicated to struggle towards bettering hostel facilities in South Campus.
  9. Room rent control action should be executed most effectively.
  10. Free Wi-Fi services in every Department and college of the university.
  11. We would also demand to provide free computers with internet facility to the students on the college campus.
  12. Sanitation issues in colleges: Good and clean toilets for students in all colleges. ABVP also demands water coolers at every 200 metres at Chhatra Marg.
  13. The University Health Centre card should be issued for all students.
  14. To stop the exploitation of students who belong to outside of Delhi, Coordination Committee of Private Hostel owners, Land Lords and Students should be made.
  15. Open gym in all colleges.
  16. Free education for [the] transgender [community].
  17. Facilities for differently-abled students in all departments and colleges.
  18. Health Wellness Society in all colleges and departments.
  19. Healthy and subsidized food for students in all colleges and departments.
  20. Healthy and subsidized food canteen in North Campus.
  21. Formation of Gender Sensitization and Complaints Committee under DUSU to instil inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community in DU.

 

  • Pathyakram (Curriculum): ABVP envisages that the Du curriculum should be subjected to the 3Rs: Review, Rational Debate, and Representation.

    1. The academic council of DU should have student representation.
    2. Remedial classes for all SC/ST/OBC/Economically weak students.
    3. The Central Placement Cell of the University should be more effective. It should also work in tandem with the Skill Development Department of the government.
    4. Dedicated staff should be employed by the University.
    5. Placement officer in all colleges.
    6. ABVP will try to provide social internship to at least 10,000 DU students in various government and non-government organisations.
    7. We would try to make Post Graduate class available in Hindi medium and provision for Hindi medium exam writing mode as well.
    8. Students should be allowed to choose their Generic Subjects as per their own choice; it shouldn’t be imposed on them.
    9. Effective utilization of MOOCs; credit transfer should be allowed if students wish to do their courses on SWAYAM or other MOOC platforms.
    10. Special departmental classes for training students to take the NET exam.
    11. English speaking classes for needy students should be introduced to make them more confident and employable.
    12. Notes and Reading Materials should be provided in regional languages.
    13. Value-based education through counselling.
    14. NSS, Yoga, and NCC should be offered as elective.
    15. Health and Wellness Society in all colleges for Fit India.
    16. Funding and Social Entrepreneurship.
    17. Effective implantation of EK Bharat Shrestha Bharat Programme.
    18. We would demand to introduce evening classes in every college of the university so that more students can get the chance to study at this prestigious university.

 

  • Pravesh (Admission): ABVP demands to further simplify the admission procedure to get into DU.
  1. One course, One Fee: ABVP will make sure that same fee is charged throughout the University for a Particular Course.
  2. The admission process should be made more student-friendly and priorities of the students should be taken care especially in matters of college and courses.
  3. We also demand to give concessions in admission to the students who belong to the rural background.
  4. Some colleges have introduced few specialised courses without proper infrastructure, we demand from the university authorities to first improve the infrastructure and then introduce new courses.
  5. We would work for the increment in the scholarships for SC/ST/OBC and demand to link scholarship with price index in line with the increase in DA.
  6. We would also try to get the vacant OBC/SC/ST/PH seats in various colleges filled. Various aspects of the fee structure of the university will be analysed so that we can make an effort to make it more equitable and logical.
  7. We would also struggle for scholarships to all SC/ST/PH students.
  8. Admission in sports and ECA quota should be done in a very transparent manner. ABVP supports students’ demands to fix parameters for ECA quota.
  9. Special Admissions drive should be started in all colleges after elections to fill all the vacant seats in all the categories.
  10. University should make inter-college migration policy transparent and clear at the beginning of the admission process.
  11. Centralised Hostel Application Form.

 

  • Pareeksha (Examination): ABVP demands that both admission and semester examinations should be held in a manner that provides students with ample time to prepare.
  1. Generic Electives and Skill Enhancement Courses (SECs) are scheduled on the same day in the morning and evening, which is taxing on students.
  2. Draft datesheet should also be shared with student unions and councils for their feedback.
  3. We demand that the university must start special supplementary examinations for the final year students of all courses.
  4. One-time special chance should be given by the VC to all the students to complete their degree.
  5. ABVP demands student-friendly Internal Assessment monitoring committee and grievance redressal cell.
  6. A review committee should be set up to increase the extra time given to specially-abled students.
  7. Regular Assignments and Exams should happen throughout the semester for continuous evaluation for Internal Assessments.
  8. Students should be given an additional chance to improve their Internal Assessments.

 

  • Parinam (Results): ABVP demands that results be declared on time and without delays.
  1. The university calendar should include fixed fate of result declaration.
  2. By this date, all the colleges and departments should necessarily declare the results.
  3. The results of supplementary examinations should be declared before the beginning of the new session so that the final year students can take admission in the commencing academic year.
  4. If students demand they should be given a chance to view their final exam sheets with a minimum cost if required.
  5. Teachers should not boycott evaluation and make students as a victim of their protest.
  6. All the students should get an online certified copy of mark sheet and also printed mark sheet of all the semesters separately.
  7. The result should clearly highlight the marks scored in different subjects with the bifurcation of Internal Assessment marks.
  8. University should develop a mechanism to expedite the printing and delivery of Degree to the students post their course completion.

 

ABVP has also introduced a manifesto for female students. The party claims that ABVP led DUSU will organise Mission Sahasi 2.0: Making of the Fearless to strengthen the educational facilities, safety, and security for women at the college and university campus, by making the following efforts:

  • Continue with the demand to make North Campus a compact campus.
  • To make girl students more self-confident by organising Self-Defence Training Camps in various colleges and university campus.
  • Try for the provision of police both near every hostel/college and make sure that there are female police staffs present at every booth.
  • Girls Activity Centre should be established, mobile apps for the safety of female students like I Feel Safe should be available to all, and awareness must be spread.
  • Patrolling of PCR vans around colleges and especially around girls’ hostels should be increased.
  • We demand a permanent DUSU office having a welcoming atmosphere, where students can visit any time to raise their problem or suggestion if any.
  • ICC elections should be held in all the colleges and departments in time and complaint box should be present.
  • Restrictions should be made on the entry of outsiders in the college campus.
  • CCTV cameras should be installed in colleges and departments.
  • Each college should have their security team 24/7.
  • Gender Sensitisation camps and programs should be organised by student unions of colleges.
  • Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines and Incinerators should be there in all colleges.
  • Girls Common Room should be made available in all colleges.
  • Proper signs outside male and female washrooms.
  • Female trainers in sports and ECA as per students.
  • Helpline should be introduced at the college level for students being abused on social media websites.

ABVP will be contesting with this manifesto in the DUSU Elections 2019-20 on 12th September 2019.

Feature Image Credits: Janam TV

Shreya Juyal

[email protected]

 

 

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NSUI Launches #AawaazUthaoSeeti Bajao Campaign

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On Tuesday, 27th August 2019, NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) inaugurated a campaign called “Aawaaz Uthao, Seeti Bajao” insisting students to “blow the whistle” against the prevailing inequality in University of Delhi.

According to statistics, there are 3,93,604 students in University of Delhi (DU). There exists a pervasive inequality between campuses, colleges, students (caste, region), linguistic (rural, urban), morning and evening colleges.

NSUI, with the help of this campaign, aims at eliminating this rampant disproportion between the students by focusing on the ideology of “One University, Equal Opportunity”. NSUI also successfully proclaimed how it fought for University of Delhi to be awarded the “Institute of Eminence” stature like several other educational institutions of the country and as a result of which, University of Delhi will henceforth get an additional INR 1000 crores from the government which is roughly INR 75000 extra per student, with which NSUI plans on ensuring equal educational opportunity for every student. Furthermore, NSUI ensured certain additional facilities like transportation and hostel for all, establishment of a common placement cell for students of every college, and a 24X7 available library. 

Apart from this, NSUI also publicised certain unfortunate and controversial cases of some members of the opposing party, ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad).

Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Congress, said, “India has the largest youth population in the world; ensuring equal educational opportunity for them is a key government responsibility. But there’s rampant inequality at multiple levels even in the capital’s Delhi University. #AwaazUthaoSeetiBajao campaign aims to set it right.”

Ruchi Gupta, Joint Secretary, AICC and National in-charge, NSUI said, “The NSUI is committed to equal educational opportunity for all Indian youth. Our DUSU panel is reflective too of our commitment to women empowerment, social justice and equal opportunity across class and caste #AwaazUthaoSeetiBajao for an equal and egalitarian Delhi University”. (sic)

The campaign also acquired the support of India’s first boxer to win an Olympic medal, Vijender Singh.

Some students strongly believe that this idea of equality among students is unjust, as they believe that inequality prevails because some of them have worked harder than others and reached that level where they hold the privilege of better courses and better colleges, which makes them entitled to certain status and benefits. Contrary to which, other students have said “This idea of equality is an amazing initiative, as it will encourage harmony and sense of belongingness because it’s unfair to judge somebody’s capabilities on the basis of marks and measure their success, thus everybody deserves equal opportunity.” 

Feature Image Credits: NSUI Twitter

Avni Dhawan 

[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

SFI Attacked During DUSU Nominations

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Scuffles, violence and threats are not unheard of during the election season. The nomination day saw its repetition. 

The DUSU nominations were scheduled for the 4th of September. Political parties, supporters and candidates waited in the barricaded Chhatra Marg to file their nominations. 

In the official statement released by SFI, the incident occurred around 2:35 p.m. when they were attacked, and their nomination form torn up in front of gate number four of the Faculty of Arts, North Campus by ‘ABVP goons’. 

The SFI attempted to file the nomination again, around 2:55 p.m. when they were attacked for the second time. With their nomination forms torn up, and unable to meet the deadline of 3 p.m., the SFI couldn’t file their nomination. Only one candidate from the AISF, Alan Paul Varghese managed to escape the violence and submit the form. 

The scuffle resulted in injuries to Vikas Bhadauria, the Delhi State President of SFI and Paramanand Sharma, a visually impaired student. 

Recalling the incident, Utkarsh, the Delhi State Secretariat member of SFI claims that ‘around 20’ people attacked them the first time and ‘over 80’ people attacked them the second time.

IMG-20190905-WA0066

The attacks allegedly continued to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where during the presidential debate, SFI members were attacked by the ABVP in the middle of the debate. 

Sources told DU Beat that the SFI were attacked by the same group of people at JNU. 

So far, an FIR has been lodged with the Maurice Nagar Police Station and soon, a writ petition will follow through in the Delhi High Court. 

Allegations from the SFI have always been refuted by the ABVP. Ashutosh Singh, the Delhi Media Secretary of the ABVP said to DU Beat, “No it’s completely false. Only the candidates were allowed to enter the premises and outside the authorised premises lot of police force is present. So it’s completely a false allegation. As we are winning the elections SFI and AISF are trying to defame us.” (sic)

The SFI happens to share a rocky history with the ABVP. This is the third documented attack on the SFI this year. Just a week ago, the SFI held a protest at the Faculty of Arts after three members were attacked near the Vijay Nagar drain. An FIR was lodged in the Model Town police station. 

Feature Image Credits: Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat

Jaishree Kumar

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ABVP Announces List of Shortlisted DUSU Candidates

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On Friday, 30th August 2019, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) shortlisted seven candidates out of their previous ten, who would be contesting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls.
On Friday, ABVP released the list of seven shortlisted candidates, out of their previous ten, who would be contesting in the DUSU 2019 elections.
These candidates are Tushar Dedha, Yogit Rathi, Akshit Dahiya, Pradeep, Tanwar, Shivangi Kharaab, Jaideep Maan, and Mansi Chauhan.
The ABVP also declared the composition of its Election Committee on Saturday, 31st August 2019. The Election Committee is headed by the State President of ABVP, Delhi Unit, Dr. Avneesh Mittal. The other members include National Executive Member of ABVP- Dr Manu Sharma Kataria, State Organising Secretary-Anand Srivastava, National Media Convener – Monika Chaudhary, State Secretary- Sidharth Yadav, Former DUSU President Shakti
Singh, and Central Working Committee Member- Abhishek Verma. ”

This committee will now start having meetings, and discuss about the candidates, how their performance is going on in the University, their background, and personality of the candidates- content generation and how they’re speaking (and) addressing the students, what content they are putting in front (of the students) and on the basis of these parameters, our Election Committee will decide who will be our four candidates,” Monika Chaudhary, the National Media Convener of ABVP and a member of the Election Committee reported to DU Beat.

The party generated talks with last year’s elected President, Ankiv Baisoya being found to have had a fake degree, landing the party, as well as DUSU in hot waters. “Actually, we are not having a very, like particular system of how to check out the degrees of the students, and last year also, we gave (a) ticket to Ankiv Baisoya for the simple reason that Ankiv Baisoya was enrolled in the University and that time he was having admission in University in the Buddhist (Studies) department, and his nomination also got cleared, so we had no clue that the past degree would be fake. This time also, we have checked the background of the students, their degrees, but we are not having a very authentic system that we would have gone into other universities and (checked) their background. We have a simple system (in which) we check their backgrounds and previous degrees from Delhi University, and if they are a student of Delhi University, they’re genuine for us,” Monika Chaudhary commented.

Ashutosh Singh, ABVP’s State Media in-Charge commented, “Toh iss time hum log aur hamari Election Committee, saare candidates ki saari information ki acche se scrutiny kar rahe hai… Ankiv Baisoya ki cheez hamare dhyaan mein hai. [This time, the Election Committee is scrutinising all the
information regarding the candidates properly; we’re keeping Ankiv Baisoya’s incident in mind.]
ABVP’s Election Committee will be declaring the final candidates for the DUSU elections on 5th September 2019.

Feature Image Credits: Janam TV
Shreya Juyal
[email protected]

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SFI Calls for Left Alliance for DUSU Elections

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The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) gave an open call for an alliance of all “Left-Progressive” student organisations to fight the upcoming student union polls together.

Students of the University of Delhi (DU) will elect their representatives in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) on 12th September, which means the various student parties are currently campaigning.

The SFI, amidst this, has given a call for a “broader left coalition” to fight the upcoming DUSU polls. The party gave a lengthy rationale for this call. “We only have our solidarity to resist the politics of money, muscle and arrogance,” the SFI’s statement read. While asserting that the various left organisations have agreed to come together on a common minimum programme, the statement admits that “There can be some confusion flowing from how do we define the progressive forces which can lead to various conceptions of unity also.” Calling for a “unity which would electorally reflect the united struggles of the progressive students in Delhi University,” the statement denounced “the short-cut of the opportunistic electoral alliance by compromising the ideals of progressive student movements”. The statement also said that the alliance would fulfil “aspirations and demands” of DU students to see a “grand left alliance in DU on the lines of JNU.”

Speaking to DU Beat, Sumit Kataria, Vice President of SFI Delhi, said that there are two aspects behind this call given by his party – one, the electoral calculations; two, regarding campus protests. Saying that the SFI and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) – “historically the two major left organisations” in DU – have counted on a diverse voter base, Mr. Kataria pointed out that both parties have had certain colleges as their respective strongholds, and that it would make sense “to combine this influence electorally” to have a higher vote share to go against the incumbent Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). From the voters’ perspective, he said that many students who support both parties “get disillusioned due to the lack of an electoral alliance and end up not voting for anyone.”

Secondly, regarding political activity on campus, Mr. Kataria says that the left parties have organised joint protests on multiple issues. However, he alleged that some of these organisations had taken “sectarian positions” when it came to the DUSU elections.

Has the SFI made similar calls in the past as well? Did it receive a positive response? Mr. Kataria says that while the AISF and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) have been contesting the DUSU polls along with the SFI as a united panel for the last three years, this panel is incomplete “without some left organisations who have adamantly stuck to their sectarian positions.”

However, parties such as the ABVP seem to be much ahead in the campaigning department. The party has already released a list of potential candidates and can be seen rallying across the campus. Similarly, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) officially launched in campaign through a press conference yesterday – 27th August.

On the other hand, the left parties are trying to come to a common ground for an alliance. It cannot be denied that the ABVP and the NSUI seem to be strategically ahead of the left parties. Mr. Kataria agrees. “We should (have done) that (alliance-making) earlier,” he said. However, he also added that the names of the candidates released by the ABVP were only probables and not the final names. “Discussion on alliance is going on,” he said.

What about the response? Mr. Kataria told us that AISF, AIDSO, and AISA were supposedly discussing the matter among their respective organisations. “Still, AISF most probably and AIDSO will join but from AISA we have not got any satisfactory reply,” he said.

Sources say that the AISA is also closing in on finalising and announcing its candidates for the polls.

We contacted the representatives of ABVP, AISA, and NSUI for detailed responses, but they did not comment by the time of the publication of this article.

Feature Image credits – Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat

 Prateek Pankaj
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Delhi HC Asks DU to not be “Harsh” on Student Leaders

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With the demise of India’s former Finance minister, Shri Arun Jaitley on 23rd August, 2019 and the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections around the corner, the Delhi High Court has asked the University of Delhi (DU) not be “too harsh” on student leaders since they have the potential to become the leaders of the country in future.

As reported by NDTV, while addressing a grievance of defacement of public property during 2017 DUSU elections, the High Court stated that the country gets great leaders from student leaders and the University authorities should not be too harsh on them for their activities during Students’ Union elections.

In a status report presented to the bench previously, a list of 15 students was rolled out who had been involved in the activities destruction of both public and private properties by spray paints and other means of causing defacement.

The bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said, in an apparent reference to Jaitley, “Don’t be too harsh on them. Don’t put ban on everything. From student leaders, we sometime get great leaders for the country. You know the examples; you must have seen it yesterday,”

The bench also said that civil and criminal action would be initiated as per the law if anyone is found involved in damaging either public or private properties. It also asked that the Centre, the University and the police ensure that all the guidelines are followed and adhered to during this year’s election process. The message of having a wide publicity to be given to penal actions if anyone was found defacing public property was also given out.

The High Court had earlier said prevention of defacement of property during student body polls in the DU was more important than taking action against candidates after they indulge in such activity. It had also suggested putting in place deterrents like disqualification of candidates to prevent defacement of property during the student body polls.

It is thus, hoped that this election season for the DU rolls out peacefully without damage to any person or property and leaders of our future find their way into the government through their political journeys in DU.

Feature Image Credits: Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat

With Inputs from NDTV

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

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Admissions 2019

NSUI Plays the Election Bugle- “One University, Equal Opportunities”

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National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) launches its Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) election campaign- “Awaaz Uthao, Seeti Bajao, (to blow the whistle against inequality)” in a press conference on 27th August at the NSUI office in Raisana Road, New Delhi.

The NSUI stated that there is an unbridled inequality at several levels in the University of Delhi (DU) between the students (in terms of caste, religion, gender, etc), campuses, colleges and certain streams (science considered better than arts and commerce) which desists the youth from realising their full potential.

Speaking on the occasion, Neeraj Kundan, National President of the NSUI said that there are several inequalities existing in the DU in terms of campuses and colleges. “There is a major difference between the facilities available in the North Campus and South Campus of the university. Even within the North Campus, there are inequalities between colleges in terms of hostel facilities, different fees structure for same courses.”

Ruchi Gupta, the National In charge of the NSUI talked about the focus of the party’s campaign, “We are going to blow the whistle on inequality in Delhi University, and we are starting this as the beginning of a year-long campaign across the country to highlight unequal educational opportunities and inequality in our society and country.”

The NSUI through its campaign aims to highlight and bring to notice every single occurrence of disparity on campus level, college level and between the students and demand that the University of Delhi fulfils the implicit promise of “One University, Equal Opportunities”.

In the wake of the election season, the campaign aims at being inclusive and promotes equality which might be beneficial for the NSUI.

Feauture Image Credits- Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat

Abhinandan Kaul

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Admissions

Mission Admission: A Tough Bargain

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The continuing problems related to admissions in the varsity have raised several questions on the functionality of the administration.

Student organisations Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) of the University of Delhi (DU) have voiced their concerns and demonstrated against the DU Vice Chancellor regarding the difficulties faced by students during the time of admissions. The demonstation also sought to question the fee hike that has taken place for almost all courses in the University.

ABVP has voiced the concerns of the students by protesting at the Arts Faculty, addressing various issues related to admissions. The increment in college fees has been challenged along with irregularity in Sports Category admissions. Provision of admission by accepting undertaking, and introduction of EWS category in M. Phil/ PhD admissions has been requested. Importantly, inadequate arrangement in colleges for parents at the time of the admission process are some of the issues amongst other key issues that have been raised by the ABVP.

They (ABVP) has brought into the limelight how the admission staff in colleges who were admitting students to the first cut-off were not aware of the rules prescribed by the University. This caused problems in the smooth functioning during the admissions process. Admissions of students were also cancelled due to loopholes in the admission process.

Siddharth Yadav, the State Secretary of ABVP Delhi, said that if the demands are not met within the time period of ten days, then there will be more resolute protests against the administration.

DUSU President Shakti Singh also highlighted the issue of fee hike by saying, “There has been an arbitrary unaccounted fee increase in many DU colleges.” The issue Ramjas College’s fee hike has been previously reported on by DU Beat.

A memorandum to the Dean of Students Welfare had been submitted after the protest ended by the the ABVP delegation.

Attempts have been made by the student organisations so that the DU admission process does not become tedious and burdensome for the students. The true effects of the protests remain to be seen.

Feature Image Credits: Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

Dear Urban College Students, It’s Not Just ‘Fascism’ and ‘Bigotry’

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The dominant response of the urban college-goers on social media to the BJP’s victory in the 2019 elections has been to cry foul at the electorate that voted for the party. It is not just incorrect but also lazy.

 

Disclaimer: I did not vote for the BJP. I have had heated discussions with BJP supporters trying to prove to them why I don’t concur with their views and why, in my opinion, the Modi-led government did not do a job good enough in its first term to deserve a re-election. I used to be a supporter initially but things changed.

Regardless, the typical response of the urban college-going students – who would mostly identify themselves as perhaps being more on the liberal and the non-right side – to the election results on social media was almost a uniform rebuke of anyone who voted for the BJP, accompanied by cries of fascism and predictions suggesting virtually the end of democracy.

Among the many social media posts, some called shame on the voters for electing this government back. Others showed images of Mohammed Naeem moments before being violently lynched to death, of Mohammed Akhlaq, Gauri Lankesh and others and were shared as Instagram stories with captions urging voters to remember them before they voted.  It is true that the multiple lynchings and killings of dissenting voices by groups sharing ideologies similar to the ruling party or those affiliated to some of its members, and the silence of the dispensation over such acts can be reason enough for someone to not vote back a government – this was one of my reasons, at least.

However, to say that these can be the only metrics of judging whether the government should be voted for or not is quite dogmatic. To say that those who voted for the BJP did not vote for ‘development’ but ‘hatred and bigotry’, even if the voters themselves say that the former was the determinant, does not just imply that only one kind of electoral preference – one that is anti-BJP – should exist but also denies the agency to the voters to make their electoral decisions themselves by condemning those choices. It’s also highly patronising and arrogant to tell someone that you couldn’t have voted because of X reason because I’m telling you that you voted for Y. Who are we with our high-handed privilege to tell people what is right for them?

There can be tons of reasons as to why people might have voted for Mr Modi’s party. As writer Mahmood Farooqui argued in an article published on The Wire, “Many voted for him (Modi) despite acknowledging his policy failures. Some voted for him because he could defend the country, some because he had made the country proud internationally, some because he worked very hard and they saw him as honest, and some because there was nobody else on the horizon. Many people voted for a leader who they genuinely believed was doing good for the country and would continue to do good. They voted for a leader who they believed deserved another chance.”

Or as NDTV‘s Aunindyo Chakravarty wrote in his blog, “The Modi government might have failed in the…various type of ‘measures’ through which modern nations gauge their government’s performance – GDP, industrial output, profit growth, employment, and similar ‘data’ that states produce. It has, however, been extremely successful in creating ‘touch-points’ between the government and the poor.

“Swachh Bharat, PMAY (Awas Yojana), Ujjwala, Jan Dhan, Ayushman Bharat, Mudra, PM Kisan, are all such touch-points, that aid the operation of ‘governmentality’.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean some people didn’t vote for the BJP precisely because of the bigotry and divisiveness, as shown by journalist Supriya Sharma’s piece on Scroll.in. Yet, I would argue that a greater portion of people voted because of many other reasons – governmental schemes, choosing stability over a weak and fragmented opposition, popularity of Mr Modi and other such considerations. After a single term, the anti-incumbency factor isn’t that high either and people might often be willing to give the government another chance.

Hence, the “fascist, communal, bigot” arguments are quite incorrect. But they’re more than that – they’re also lazy.

Apart from the clichés of how it is very easy to sit in our air conditioned rooms and condemn people’s preferences, there are also the dangers of ideology. Living in a box is easy but also dangerous for it blinds people in their ideological echo chambers. The left using labels of “fascist”, “hyper-nationalist”, “communal” for right-wingers is basically the same as the right attaching derogatory connotations to “liberal”, “secular” or “communist” or using labels of “anti-national”.

Both are different ways of using the same tactic of attaching labels to opponents while ignoring nuance all along the way. This thumbnail point of view never allows for nuanced understanding or debate because most people, irrespective of their ideological leanings, don’t accept the fact that they might be wrong. This lazy argument of limiting the other’s perspective to a couple of fancy words remains meaningless to some and incomprehensible jargon to others. Ultimately, the root of the issue isn’t tackled and evils of communalism and bigotry are allowed to get away. In any case, when has Insta-activism ever solved a problem?

I’m not trying to do armchair political analysis and fall into the irony of critiquing armchair activists at the same time, which is why I’ve quoted from people much more experienced in this domain. Instead, I’ve tried to have a non-thumbnail, non-lazy argument with people like me who I think are missing the point.

 

Image credits – The Hindu

 

Prateek Pankaj

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Young DU Voters Stuck with Semester Exams

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As the election season draws towards a close, we take a look at the votes lost due to engagement in academics and end semester exams.

 

Shoonya is a young 20-year-old pursuing her Bachelor’s in Economics hons. from a college in Delhi University. Shoonya is politically opinionated and keeps an eye on every new political development that happens nowadays, owing to an environment stimulated by the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. She is predetermined to use her voting rights in order to impact the elections. But Shoonya comes from Varanasi, which will go for polls on May 19. Unfortunately, she has a core paper a day later, which she can’t afford to miss. Shoonya inadvertently has to sacrifice his vote for exams.

Thousands on eligible young voters have to let their precious votes go in vain owing to a bigger priority. This overlapping acts as a predicament to the spirit of our democracy.  A huge chunk of votes, not only from the University of Delhi but from all other higher education institutions get lost every time elections and exams coincide.

The 17th Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and will end on May 23 in 7 phases all across the country. Most of the students currently in their under-graduation years will be eligible for voting in the 17th Lok Sabha Elections. These first-time voters constitute 1.66% of the total voters registered for 2019 Lok Sabha. Out of the 900 million voters, 15 million falls in the age group of 18-19.  This percentage is detrimental to a huge extend because voter turnout doesn’t exceed 60-65% and formation of a government happens at mere 30-35%. Many of these 15 million are those who have turned 18 on January 1 2019. This translates to the fact that a bunch of these students are currently pursuing their bachelor’s or will enrol in a under graduation programme in the coming academic year.

In January 2019, The Times of India came up with a fascinating drive to acknowledge the votes that are lost during elections. The campaign known as “Lost Votes” was meant to instigate a conversation on people who sacrifice their votes in order to prioritize their studies or jobs. In many countries, right to vote is a fundamental right but in India, we treat it as a legal right. This stagnates the voter turnout every time and in case of first-time voters, it becomes lower.

“I want to vote but travelling back to Jamshedpur is tedious and hectic. And exams have made it impossible for me to go back and cast my ballot.” says Deepak Singh, a third-year student at Aryabhatta College. Many like Deepak and Shoonya or will lose an important milestone of their lives, the first indelible ink on their fingers, their first votes.

 

Image credits- Zee News

Priyanshu

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