People's Democracy

 PUNJAB

 Punjabi Varsity Students Resist And Win

Charan Singh Virdi

RESISTANCE, of course, wins when it is just and mass based. Here is a quite heartening case of resistance of this very type in which students of the Punjabi University, Patiala, have won their demands.

The victory for the Punjabi University students came on September 22, when the authorities agreed to completely roll back the hikes in fees for general and professional courses, to revoke the suspension of student leaders, and to reopen all the closed departments. In the settlement which was struck following the state government’s intervention through its home secretary, all police cases registered against the student leaders were withdrawn and the university authorities assured to hold extra classes to ensure that students who have missed their classes do not fall short of lectures. To compensate the university for the loss of revenue, the Amrinder Singh government assured to give it a lump sum grant of Rs 2.18 crore.

The settlement was wrested from the callous hands of university authorities after a two months long, united and heroic struggle of the students led by a front based on 11 student organisations, including the Students Federation of India (SFI).

It will be noted that the Congress state government, led by Captain Amrinder Singh, is currently on a spree of heaping upon the people economic burdens of various kinds one after another and charging “user fees” for various services. Recently, the state government hiked the fees for various general and professional courses, which were so exorbitant that they severely added to the woes of parents from even middle income groups. The Punjabi University unit of the SFI immediately contacted other student organisations, made them form a united front named as Students Struggle Front, and thus ensured immediate and joint intervention against the fee hikes. The front gave a joint call for district level demonstrations on July 24 and a one day statewide strike in the first week of August. Earlier, the widespread resentment agitating the student community was expressed in strikes, demonstrations and protest rallies on July 18 as well.

All the opposition forces and Left led mass organisation expressed their solidarity with the struggling students and demanded that the Amrinder Singh government immediately roll back the callous fee hikes. Ultimately, seeing the spread of mass anger that was galvanising the students and their parents, the Amrinder government retreated and announced the roll back of fee hikes.

But to the utter dismay of the people, authorities of the Punjabi University, Patiala, refused to implement this roll back of fee hikes. The student community of this university naturally felt deeply hurt and anguished against this arbitrary discrimination meted out to them by the authorities. Led by the joint front of student organisations including the SFI, the university students decided to continue their struggle in this university. Braving heat and rain, they held a massive protest demonstration in the university campus on July 24. Again, they held a successful strike on August 8.

The vice chancellor, who is a retired IAS officer, tried to deal with the just struggle of the students with a heavy hand. Based on demonstrations, gate rallies and torchlight processions, however, the agitation remained completely peaceful throughout.

On August 27, the vice chancellor (VC) played a dirty trick to malign the student leaders. He fabricated a false story that certain student leaders had tried to physically assault him while he was coming out of the campus gurudwara. On the same day, the vice chancellor rusticated seven student leaders including the SFI state secretary Swaranjeet Singh Delyo, Gurpaul Singh Dhaliwal and Gurtej Singh Teji.

Then in protest, students again held protest rallies and started a relay hunger strike in front of the VC’s office on August 28, when 25 students sat on the hunger strike. Immediately, the university authorities started a wave of cruel and uncivilised repression. They rusticated another five student leaders, closed down the hostels and ordered the students to vacate the hostels within hours. The authorities even called in the police to get their autocratic orders implemented. As a result, hostelers including girl students had had to pass the night under the open sky. The authorities’ callousness was such that even toilets were locked and messes were closed. From August 29 onwards, they closed down the university sine die.

But the students continued their struggle, and hostelers including 300 women students passed the nights on August 30 and 31 under the open sky. However, sarpanches of the nearby villages expressed solidarity with the struggling students and supplied them meals.

On September 1, the state government woke up and the Punjab assembly speaker Beer Devinder Singh came forward to mediate. A partial roll back was then announced. However, in fact, even Beer Devinder Singh was seen to be standing behind the VC. The joint front of students had then no option but to continue its just and legitimate struggle. On September 11, the front gave the call for a statewide student strike and holding of protest rally in front of chief minister Amrinder Singh’s residence at Patiala on September 18.

On September 12, the police booked another 12 student leaders in false cases, one of them being the SFI state president Harmandeep Singh Gill. On September 16, there was a ding-dong battle between the police and students. Patiala was virtually turned into a police camp with the deployment of police forces from six districts. In spite of all obstructions and barricades, however, 450 students of Khalsa Collage, led by Harmandeep Singh Gill, succeeded in reaching up to the gate of Amrinder Singh’s palace where they were arrested. On that day, more than 1,000 students including girl students were arrested in Patiala and freed only after they were taken to far-flung places.

On September 18, students held a successful statewide strike. The agitation now began to gather momentum and spread statewide. This forced the Amrinder Singh government to rescind the fee hikes, and wiser counsels prevailed. The government and the arrogant university vice chancellor had to reckon with the power of students’ unity and just mass based resistance of the student community that was getting ever-growing solidarity and sympathy from the common people of the state. It was in such a compelling circumstance that the authorities had to climb down and a settlement was arrived at on September 27, conceding the vital demands of the students and parents. (INN)