
Attempts to supress voice of students in various University and Institute campuses are on the rise. But so is the revolt of students! University authorities are trying to clamp down on right to freedom of expression of students by refusing permission to discuss various important issues facing our society, by refusing permission to hold meetings to express solidarity with other students and youth and the oppressed of our country, etc. If students defy the ban the University authorities try to scare them by sometimes rusticating some students or sometimes by lodging police complaints against some of them. They justify their actions by saying that, “duty of the students is to study and hence students must not indulge in politics!” However the very same authorities welcome activities by students which sing praises in support of the status quo, in support of various government policies, etc.
But students from many campuses are actively defying the authorities. JNU, AMU, Jamia Milia University, BHU, Jadavpur University, Hyderabad Central University are just some of the examples. In Mumbai the students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have been very active on this front.
We salute the students of TISS Mumbai for carrying forward that banner of revolt, revolt against suppression of “freedom of expression”, one of the fundamental rights which all of us possess by virtue of being human, a right which is supposed to be inviolable!
SPARK supports TISS Students’ Union
Spark – Voice of Youth completely supports the stand taken by the newly elected Students’ Union and is in complete solidarity with the students of TISS. We support the demand that criminalisation of students and surveillance of their activities should be immediately stopped. All legal action against the students for their peaceful protests should be rolled back immediately.
We hail the students and the Students’ Union for not keeping mum and bravely raising their voice and telling the authorities that the campus is not a jail cell but a free space where ideas, thoughts and opinions should flow freely. We salute the students for their efforts to organise various events in spite of the administration’s negative attitude.