By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Kozhikode: The newly elected leadership of Kerala chapter of the Students Islamic Organisation of India has hinted at being more active in the political arena and involving in more progressive acts in campus politics.
“SIO will involve in more progressive acts in politics,” said Shihab Pookkottur, newly elected president of Kerala SIO, to TwoCircles.net. When asked about the criticism that the student organisation of the Jamat e Islami Hind has been too much into politics in the recent years Shihab said, “The organisation wishes to keep its activities balanced with giving importance to growth of its members academically and morally.” However, he added that the SIO wished to widen the canvas of student politics in terms of the issues and topics raised in the campuses. “We wish to act in wider a political dimension, bringing environmental, human rights and minority issues and the like to the campuses.”
Shihab has been elected the new president of the SIO in Kerala for the coming two years. KP Abdussalam was elected general secretary, and S Irshad and PK Sadiq secretaries.
“We have already brought up the issue of the Tehelka correspondent KK Shahina (who was charged with intimidation for talking to witnesses in the Bengaluru blast case and publishing a report countering the claims of the Karnataka police) in Thiruvananthapuram.” Mentioning the national-level efforts to bring about an alliance of Dalits and minorities, Shihab said that the SIO wished to go forward with the aim in the Kerala campuses also,” said Shihab. However, he added that a correct picture of the policies and programmes of the organisation under the new leadership would be formed only in the high level meeting for formulation of policies to be held on January 15.
Shihab Pookkottur hails from Pookkottur in Malappuram district. He was serving as the state secretary of the SIO in Kerala. He completed his graduation from the Al Jamia al Islamiya at Shanthapuram in Malappuram. He did a post-graduation in Arabic from the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, and in Sociology from the Madras University. He has also acquired a diploma in journalism from the EFLU. KP Abdussalam, the new general secretary, hails from Moozhikkal in Kozhikode and was serving as the Kozhikode district secretary. The Physics graduate from Farooq College did his B.Ed from the Kerala University and M.Ed from the Kannur University.
Members elected to the state committee are A Abdul Qader (Thiruvananthapuram), Mubashir Sharqi (Kollam), S Sameer (Alappuzha), KS Nisar and KP Muhammed Jamal (Ernakulam), M Abdul Jaleel and KV Safeer Sha (Malappuram), KP Haris, OK Faris and MP Ubaid Rahman (Kozhikode) and Salman Saeed (Kasargode). The election was presided over by national president KK Suhail and led by Jamat e Islami Kerala Amir T Arifali.
The SIO elects its office-bearers for a term of two years. The serving president PM Salih has been elected as the national general secretary of the organisation.
As with the mainstream political atmosphere, the campuses in Kerala also are dominated by the student organizations of the major political parties such as the Students Federation of India (SFI of the CPI-M), the Kerala Students Union (KSU of the Congress), Muslim Students Federation (MSF of the Muslim League), All India Students Federation (AISF of the CPI), etc. There are other parties also like the NSL (National Students League of the INL), ABVP (BJP) and the Campus Front (of the PFI) but are not very successful in the campus election politics. The SIO has been working in the campuses for a long time, engaging mainly in the literary and cultural activities, along with winning a few seats in the elections. However, recently it has become more active inside and outside the campus with public programmes and the like. The SIO criticised the fascist nature and acts of the SFI in campuses which invited attacks on SIO members by the SFI. The ‘Campus Caravan’ which travelled from Kasargode to Thiruvananthapuram under the leadership of the state president PM Salih in June 2010 was attacked in several places by the SFI. In the last campus elections, the organisation bettered its position in several colleges and universities. The active engagement of the organisation in campus politics which led to attacks on SIO members and the organisation’s programmes also attracted criticism from several corners against the students’ wing of a religious organisation going too much into politics. However, the new leadership of the organisation has once again made it clear that the electoral campus politics will remain a major zone of the SIO’s activities.