‘Healthy student politics is good for the democracy’

‘Healthy student politics is good for the democracy’

PUNE: While student politics has been existing in colleges and universities at various capitals, it has taken a centre stage recently with several developments in the country. Student leaders speak to Sakal Times about their interest in politics and its contributions in developing the society.

“There’s nothing personal, all is political. The student is a political entity and well aware of the world and its betterment. The students should be in politics. I always feel that the students can bring the change that our society requires and the change motivates me,” said Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress, Satish Gore. 

Mahanagar Mantri of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Anil Thombare, added, “Student politics on campus gives opportunities to students from rural areas and those who don’t have a political background, but want to make a career in politics.”

Professor of politics at the Department of Political Science in Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) Shailendra Kharat believes that healthy students politics is good for democracy. “In the last five-six years, the student politics has come out powerfully. Initially, it began from the protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2014 and now with recent developments like Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) debates it has continued. Youths are supposed to ask questions to the government. Students protests put pressure on the government, which is good for democracy. It holds government accountable by asking hard questions on its performance,” Kharat said.

“Every student organisation is important. There are local students organisations which also picks up serious state-level issues of students. However, they fail to attract attention as national student unions do,” he said.

The professor also stated that universities or colleges in small cities don’t see student protest much. “If you look at the protests, then it may be noticed that these protests are limited to universities and colleges located in capital cities. But if we go beyond these metropolitan cities-- we don’t see much of protests happening,” he said. 

“One of the reasons why such protests don’t see light in regional universities is because in central universities students get several opportunities which are limited in state or regional universities. Here the students have existential struggle and they are overlaid with worries about employment opportunities,” said Kharat.

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