By TwoCircles.net news desk,
New Delhi: Newly elected national president of Students Islamic Organization of India (SIO) Sohail KK has vowed to bring students issues in mainstream political debates, particularly during the next general election.
After being elected president of the 25-year-old Muslim students’ organization SIO last week at the organization’s central advisory council meeting, Sohail KK, 28, said: “Students’ and education issues are always marginalized in every election debates and people of the country are always misguided by vested interest of politicians and communalists.”
Suhail K.K, national president, SIO
Suhail who hails from Kerala was elected president at the end of a 3-day (Dec 15-18) meeting of more than hundred representatives of SIO from all states in New Delhi.
“Suhail KK from Kannur in Kerala is elected unanimously national president of the 25 years old student organization which has lakhs of associates across the country,” says a statement from SIO. A Rafiq from West Bengal has been appointed as general secretary of the organization which is believed to be the student wing of India’s Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
The Islamic group of students has been in news for its stem opposition of sex education last year which culminated in national campaign by most of the Muslim and other organizations which eventually forced many state governments to withdraw sex education proposals.
SIO’s national conference in Mumbai to Redefine Education in India too attracted thousands of students who conducted rallies and protests, conferences and public gatherings in the country. SIO raised voice for making education inclusive for all social groupings of the country particularly the marginalized ones. The organization also drew ire of many organizations in Kerala during union election in which SIO successfully countered left party’s candidates.
SIO has blamed authorities for illegal detention and torture of Muslim students by police and campaigned against state terrorism after Batla House controversial encounter.
“SIO is going to chalk out a detailed program for it in January 2009 in which newly elected members of central advisory council will take decisions about their next steps to intensify struggle social justice in education vis-à-vis political challenges before the nation,” says the statement.
Newly elected central advisory council will hold its first meeting in January to discuss the issues at length. The council has 15 members which include Md Hashmatullah Khan and Zubair from Karnataka, Omair Anas, New Delhi, A. Rafiq from West Bengal, Shibli Arsalan, Bihar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Fzal Quraishi from Maharashtra, Tanvir Parekh, Asif M, Musab Iqbal, Sibghat Husaini from Andhra Pardesh, Shakir T, Shahin K M and Shihab from Kerala, and Mohammad Arif from Rajashthan.
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