On 20th of February at an anti- CAA event in Bengaluru, a 19-year-old Amulya Leona, an under-graduate student, was given the microphone to say a few words against the CAA. And she did so in dramatic fashion. 

She began by shouting “Pakistan Zindabad.” Then after a dramatic pause she again shouted “Pakistan Zindabad”, hoping the bewildered crowd would join her. Then before she could continue with her third Zindabad there was pandemonium on the podium. The episode ended with her arrest. 

More and more students are making political statements that don’t quite send an anti-CAA message but instead are meant to create controversy. It makes one wonder, is it actually controversy that they are looking for? After all, controversy means publicity which could turn into a ‘political career’ opportunity.

Because, while Amulya now says her real intention was to say ‘Zindabad to all countries’ like she had mentioned in her facebook post, one has to ask,  did she have to start her special ‘Zindabad series’ with Pakistan? Why didn’t she start with ‘Hindustan Zindabad?’ Why did she have to give a dramatic pause after shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad?’ Well, she obviously did it for effect. She did it to be noticed. And noticed she was.  

In recent times after Kanhaiya Kumar became an overnight sensation, students with an inclination for professional politics seem to sniff an opportunity in protests. 

Today many student leaders simply see their position in the Student Organisations as a stepping-stone to a larger career in politics. They have examples in politicians like Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Nitish Kumar, Arun Jaitley, Kamal Nath and even Ambika Soni, who were all student leaders.

Political parties always scout for student leaders and if they are already famous they are deployed to the field immediately. Remember when Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M) announced to the media that Kanhaiya Kumar would be campaigning for the party while Kanhaiya Kumar was still telling Barkha Dutt of NDTV that he was just a student leader who wants to fix student problems and be a teacher? 

Back then Kanhaiya was a 30-year-old pursuing his Ph.D in African Studies and we wondered where he would teach this subject after his thesis? 

But we got the answer in 2019 when he was given a CPI(M) ticket to contest from Begusarai, Bihar, which he lost. So a Ph.D student leader, who in 2016 said he wanted to be a teacher, just 3 years later, in 2019, had leap frogged to being a national leader! A short cut any party worker or political aspirant would die for. 

Yes, political parties want to mould impressionable minds. That is why everyone one of them has a student wing — Congress has National Students Union of India (NSUI); Trinamool Congress has the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP); CPI(M) runs All India Students Association (AISU). And, of course, there is the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is actually NOT the student wing of BJP but of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In fact, ABVP was founded before the BJP ! Even toddler of a political party, AAP, has a student wing — the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samithi (CYSS).

Now, what is disturbing is that, after students, political parties and their shadow organisations are deploying women and children to the front lines.  

Even the Police seem to have gone easy on the men and politicians who spew venom while going after women and children vehemently. 

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur began a slogan against anti-CAA protestors which ended with the crowds chanting “shoot them” and an  impressionable young man did so. Yet he was happily seen standing next to the Finance Minster presenting the budget while three children are interrogated for hours because they had a drama where a child said, “hit them with chappal if they ask for citizenship papers!” 

While Waris Pathan of AIMIM, who spews seeds of communal hatred saying “15 crore will finish 100 crore” is only issued a notice, a publicity seeking 19-year-old is sent to jail for a publicity stunt gone wrong. 

It seems, men in politics are cowards. Cowards because they want to fight their political wars with the sweat and futures of women and children. 

Yes, it is indeed healthy to have a student body but only if it actually works towards improving the quality of education and environment in a University. But empirical evidence has shown that Student Unions don’t work so positively or apolitically. Very rarely have we heard a student body fight for better syllabus, better lab equipment or better teachers. It is usually for better canteen food, fee increase or for a political party’s ideology. 

That is why former Bangalore University VC Prof. M.S. Thimmappa said “Students must focus on studies and political organisations by pouring money will only distract young people from it. We should give students leadership training, not rowdy training.”

Sure, student activism is an important part of democracy, but now, “intellectualism” in activism has been replaced by “hooliganism.” Student Unions, instead of exploring, questioning and debating issues in a cultured and educated manner at University auditoriums are debating with sticks and fists on campus grounds. 

How many Universities have had a calm, civilised and informed debate about CAA on its campus? None.

For now, let’s hope political parties and shadow organisations stop using students and children in their political game-plans. Universities are temples where students should explore, experiment and excel instead of being indoctrinated into ‘un-debated’ narrow political ideologies. 

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