Many LSR students said that since the college follows apolitical ideologies, no political party is dominant in the college.
New Delhi: Though Lady Sriram (LSR) College is known for being apolitical and is not affiliated to the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), the speech cancellation of BJP national spokesperson, Guru Prakash Paswan, on 14 April by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), has raised questions about the political ideology being supported by LSR students.
Currently, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Student Union of India (NSUI) are dominant at several colleges of Delhi University. However, many students of LSR said that since the college follows apolitical ideologies, no political party is dominant here.
“Most of the students in LSR are not open about their political ideologies as the college administration believes in apolitical ideas. So, students prefer not to disclose which political ideas they follow,” a student from LSR told The Sunday Guardian.
Also, DUSU doesn’t take SFI into consideration as the party holds no strong ground on any college premises. The vote share of SFI is also lower than NOTA and most of the time, SFI contests elections by forming an alliance with some other party; however, till now, SFI has not been able to procure any seats.
“For the last four years, we have not been able to contest elections for various reasons. Our focus is primarily on the college elections. This time, however, we may be contesting the DUSU election. It is true that sometimes the vote share is lower than NOTA. Also, there are several drawbacks within ourselves too, and the general politics of Delhi University is dominant with the muscle power and money of ABVP and NSUI,” Preetish, an SFI member, told this paper.
At the same time, many women’s colleges are not affiliated with DUSU for several reasons. A member from the SFI unit of LSR, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “DUSU hasn’t included many women’s colleges due to security concerns. Also, DUSU wants girls to be in a safer environment so that they won’t be questioned for any kind of misbehaviour in the future.”
Meanwhile, political bodies like the NSUI and ABVP have said that they have been trying to include several girls/women’s colleges in DUSU. Many campaigns have also been organised by ABVP members to include such colleges in DUSU. Also, many women’s colleges are not affiliated with DUSU due to the objection raised by the college administration. While speaking about why LSR or many other women’s colleges are not a part of DUSU, ABVP president Akshit Dahiya told this paper, “Even if the students want to be a part of DUSU, sometimes the college administration objects. At Delhi University, there are almost 80-90 colleges, and only 52 colleges are affiliated or eligible to vote in DUSU. DUSU is already taking up this issue and has been in talks with college principals and administrations. There have been instances where the students agree to be a part of DUSU and the voter turnout is larger than a particular percentage, but the college administration objects and doesn’t allow the students.”
Many students have claimed that such systems enhance the one-way communication where the college authorities and administrations play stronger roles. Sources have revealed that the college administration didn’t want to organise an event that endorses a particular political organisation or any political ideology. This idea was indeed supported by the SFI unit of LSR too. The SFI unit of LSR issued a notification stating, “The SFI LSR unit had immediately approached the representatives in the SC-ST cell demanding that the event be called off, or speaker changed, citing the communalist and anti-Dalit ideology of the BJP.”
Many students have realised that student activism grows in DUSU-affiliated colleges. However, SFI doesn’t have a strong influence either in DU or DUSU affiliated colleges. While discussing the speech cancellation of BJP leader Guru Prakash Paswan, the SFI has also accused BJP of oppressing marginalised communities and therefore had asked the SC-ST cell to reconsider the decision to invite such a leader.
Expressing his disappointment over social media, Paswan had posted, “Can the subaltern speak? Not at one of the premier institutions of the country, Lady Sriram College, University of Delhi…on what account was my voice stifled? My ideas or my identity, regardless of that, this is about the great legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar. An institution can’t be an eco chamber. As a teaching faculty, this saddens me, even more, when students close their horizon!” He also went on to add, “…we ought to learn from the makers of our constitution is their ability to listen absorb and respect others’ viewpoints. Babasaheb represents those values,” noting that debate and discussion are the essence of democracy at a time when the country is commemorating 75 years of independence.