Against the Sell-out Indian Higher Education in WTO
As the Modi Government geared up to sell the future of students of India by ‘offering’ Indian Higher education in WTO up as a commodity of free trade, thousands of students hit the streets to remind the government about its responsibility to ensure quality and affordable education for all Indian citizens. “If sell out of coal and 2G against people’s interests put UPA out of power, then sell out of education can also throw NDA out of power,” said Sucheta De, AISA’s National President, at the mass students rally on the morning of 8 December.
More than 1500 Students from JNU, DU, AMU, Allahabad University, HCU, EFLU, Jadavpur University and many other universities marched on the streets of Delhi and raised slogans against fund-cut and sellout of Indian higher education. The students reached the site of Occupy UGC movement early in the morning and marched into the streets of central Delhi to reach Jantar Mantar where a National Convention began from 1.30 pm and went on till after 7 pm. The convention was a part of the All India Resistance Camp against WTO, organized by All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE).
Students were joined by prominent intellectuals and activists such as Medha Patkar (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Yogendra Yadav (Swaraj Abhiyan), Nandita Narain (President DUTA and FEDCUTA), Anand Teltumbde (Dalit intellectual and activist), Kavita Krishnan (Secretary, AIPWA), Tanika Sarkar and Harbans Mukhia (historians), Anil Sadgopal (President, AIFRTE), Aditya Nigam (Political Scientist, CSDS) and others who also addressed the convention.
Addressing the National Convention Medha Patkar said, since three decades our governments have been shamelessly destroying the resources of this country so that some people can make enormous profits. Prof. Yogendra Yadav, from Swaraj Abhiyan addressed the students and pledged his full support to the Occupy UGC movement. Apart from these scholars and activists, many cultural activists like Sambhaji Bhagat (Maharashtra), Hirawal (from Patna), Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (Tamilnadu), Sangwari (Delhi) performed at the Convention. DUTA president Nandita Narain mesmerized the students by singing Faiz’s poem “Hum Dekhenge”. The programme ended with a Dastangoi performance (Dastan-e-Awaargi) by Ankit Chadha and Himanshu Bajpai.
On 9 December, thousands of students from all over the country gathered in Delhi. As the students began their march to Parliament, they were brutally assaulted by the Delhi Police. This shameful and cowardly crackdown on Occupy UGC march to parliament received unequivocal criticism from all across the country as photographs and videos of the unprovoked lathi-charge, tear gas shells and water-cannon went viral on social media. Several students were seriously injured. On 12 December, a protest was called against the police brutalities. Comrade Ashutosh Kumar, AISA Delhi State President speaking at the protest said that we will not let the just demands of the millions of students of the country be silenced by such brutal attacks. Students from all across the country cannot be so brutally beaten up on the streets of Delhi by the Police without the BJP governments nod. Protests against the police brutality also erupted in other parts of the country.
As the WTO negotiations began in Nairobi on 15th December, AISA had called for a people’s vigil on WTO meet through series of protest actions from 15th to 18th December.