Letter to the Editor
Sir,
This refers to the post on page 13 of GP dated 29 October 2024 regarding the Delhi HC reprimanding DUSU for defacing the entire city and the news of a prospective students’ union leader, an MSc student of SSJ University, Almora, trying to immolate himself as a protest against the state government’s decision to cancel students’ union elections. It also refers to your editorial on this subject.
Why is there a need for a students’ union? Is it to bring pressure on the management and the teachers to run the educational institute as per the students’ desire? Or is it to raise their voices and ire against some injustice felt by the gullible young students who could have been instigated? Have our educational institutes become that corrupt that a legalised body of students is needed to keep them chaste? Is it part of their curriculum to indulge in politics backed by established political parties of the nation? Should they not be concentrating on the subjects of their studies rather than going about canvassing and ‘fighting’ for tickets and then making the entire city and their institute dirty with their graffiti and posters?
It is a wonder then that despite this evil indulgence some of our students still manage to be among the best in the world. More of them should be able to do so but for the fact that at their impressionable stage they are being introduced to the intoxication of the power of vote and political leadership. I feel it is unethical of our politicians to use the impressionable youth, especially when they manipulate the students’ choice as that of a national political party. It is aping the western concept of ‘catching them young’ and need not be imitated by us because our cultural tradition of Gurukuls is of not permitting students to indulge in any other activity but that of obtaining ‘vidya’ and ‘vyayam’ and abstaining from any other involvement least of all in ‘rajniti’. Students may have their representatives chosen by them from among themselves by the process of voting, but sans representing any political party. Students ought to restrict this activity within the precincts of their educational institute and not be permitted to deface the common public and private properties with their graffiti, posters and banners. And after their elections the chosen leaders’ first task ought to be to clean up their Alma Mater of any kind of defacement and litter. I feel that would be the correct lesson for the youth how to manage a clean election process.
Yours etc.,
S Paul
