By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: With an aim to empower campuses in the country by developing a new generation of activists who could take up social issues, a new all-India students organization namely Campus Front of India was launched yesterday at India International Centre in New Delhi.
The Campus Front of India is aimed at striving for the oppressed sections of the society and empowering the campuses to mark a new dawn in the history of students activism. The group has been formed as a result of series of discussions among students and groups which were active in taking up social issues in various parts of the country, said Anees Ahmad, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the first national students convention of Campus Front where the new group was officially launched.
“There was need for an organization which could have influence all over India to counter fascist groups which have spread in the country,” said Anees.
Speaking at the convention with the theme of Students for Social Change, Anees said “there is need for change in the situation of the country where capitalism is now ruling the roost. There is need for change of attitude of people, situation of tribals, and the situation where human rights are openly violated. There is need to change the situation where a Narendra Modi under whose rule innocents were massacred is being projected as future Prime Minister.”
Speaking as Chief Guest, Prof. P Koya, Chief Editor, Malyalam daily Thejas, hoped that the this small beginning will be the beginning of great revolution not only in campuses but in the entire country where hunger is rampant and human rights are grossly violated.
While asking the students and youth to be ready to face hurdles and obstacles, founder member of banned SIMI, Prof Koya said when we formed SIMI in a small room in Aligarh, unlike this AC hall of this India International Centre, we had dreamt of presenting ideology of peace, justice and equity but the group has now been made scapegoat by powers of the country.
“You will have to be determined and ready to offer sacrifice as you will face such problems. If you do not face any problem it means you are a useless organization,” Prof Koya said. He hoped Campus Front will be beacon of hope for millions.
Commenting on the media he said: Media has become watchdog of powers rather than being the watchdog of human rights, liberty, freedom and civil rights.
“Media in collaboration with Hindutva groups have recently created a shady, shadowy organization Love Jihad. They are spreading rumor that Muslim youths are being trained to woo Hindu and Christian girls for marriage and then convert them to Islam. After that, the Hindutva groups claim, those girls are sent for terror training in Pakistan,” he said.
Prof Tanikha Sarkar of JNU urged the group to evolve a rainbow coalition, not one focused on uniformity of views or sectarianism. “Situation is so tense that only good resolutions will not work. We should sit and debate the ground situation,” she added.
Highlighting the enormity of the spread of Hindutva forces, Prof Sarkar said: with the defeat of BJP, the political front of RSS, one should not think Sangh Parivar has fallen. In fact they are spreading in the nook and corner of the country. There is need to collect information as to how and where they are working. There is a need to identify such groups working at the grass roots.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Mohamed Yusuf, president of the newly formed Campus Front, said the group will be in the forefront in leading students to take up social issues to bring social change in the society.
Asked if they have any parent organization, Yusuf, a fresh law graduate from Madurai Government Law College, said the group is independent and as of now have no parent body. But he admitted that Popular Front of India had helped state level organizations in the South to sit together in Calicut and discuss formation of a national organization.
On how Campus Front will be different from other Muslim youth and students organizations, Yusuf who hails from Madurai in Tamil Nadu said: Other groups have members only from Muslim community, but we will recruit members from all communities and genders.
At the end of the convention Campus Front passed 10-point resolutions: Resist the influence of globalization on education, Defeat the nefarious designs of Hindutva fascism, Stict implementation of education bill, Ensure reservation to all backward communications, Start more schools and technical institution in Dalits and Muslim dominated areas, Abolish entrance exams for admissions, Protect campuses from becoming crime hubs, Stop political interventions in Aligarh Muslim University, Stop targeting minorities and tribals in the name of extremism and naxalism and Ensure protection of cultural identity and individual freedom of students.