People's Democracy

DELHI UNIV: LABORATORY OF NEO-LIBERAL REFORMS

DUTA Defeats Authoritarian Regime’s Repression

Vijender Sharma

A REIGN of terror prevails in Delhi University, with students, non-teaching staff and teachers being denied their right to protest. The university today has the most authoritarian regime in its 90 years history that threatens teachers and others with dire consequences and wage-cuts if they seek justice and resolution of their demands by holding dharnas, demonstrations or a day’s strike. College principals are being forced not to let their halls to teachers or non-teaching employees’ unions to even hold their general bodies. This never happened in the past. This regime humiliates, browbeats, rebukes and threatens even the college principals, departments’ heads and professors who question it. The regime is in no mood to learn from history and the recent international events about the dictators’ fates.

SOURCES OF VC’S

AUTOCRATIC STRENGTH

It has become very difficult to enter the science faculty of the university, which houses the vice chancellor’s office, even for teachers who studied there and taught in the university for more than 40 years. The Vice Regal Lodge, the symbol of imperialism and of India’s slavery, once the residence and office of the British Viceroy, houses the vice chancellor and his team’s offices. It has been renovated to give it the look of the British days when only the servants and lackeys of British imperialism or the people of its liking could enter the Lodge. Others had to struggle hard to get even an appointment. It is something like the Arthor Road Jail of Mumbai, housing Kasab, where it is impossible for even a pigeon to enter. Before the present vice chancellor came, there was free access to the Vice Regal Lodge for all stakeholders --- students, teachers, employees and others --- to meet an authority.

The incumbent VC is the first to call the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) as “an illegal association made up by teachers” and has not given it even a second’s time for talks on any issue since its elections in August 2011. DUTA is not only heard by all other authorities including High Court and Supreme Court as an organisation but also by the president of India. But the vice chancellor does not have time for a dialogue with it. Does he think he is above the president of India?

From three sources the VC derives strength to function in an arbitrary manner. First, the UPA government and the union minister of human resource development who announces in Indo-US higher education summits in Washington the creation of such conditions in India as may suit the American institutions to come and open their shops here. He tells them of the initiatives taken by Delhi University without any debate about consequences.

If the UPA government and HRD ministry are giving full support to the present DU administration, it is because it is implementing the so called “reforms” in higher education --- semesterisation, credit transfer, community college, four-year degree programme, meta-college, meta-university, etc. The UPA government has converted DU into a laboratory of neo-liberal reforms in higher education, suited to the US, with the help of “trained laboratory assistants.” The government’s understanding is that if it succeeds in dismantling the DU and crushing the DUTA and other unions, and introduce all its pro-US “reforms,” it can do it all over the country. The UPA and MHRD have found a “team of trained laboratory assistants” to do all that in DU.

The second source is the failure of the judiciary to give justice and pronounce judgements on time. It is amusing that the university continues to misuse the judgements in the M R Gupta vs Union of India. The university masquerades the judgement of November 15, 2010, as an “standing order of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court” denying the teachers any right to protest. This is wrong. The said judgement does not deny the teachers of their right to protest. But in the absence of the final judgement by Delhi High Court in the DUTA vs DU case which remains in suspended animation for more than ten months now, the VC is out to create an environment in which teachers would stop free thinking, creating and disseminating knowledge but study, learn and teach what the master dictates. They have to stop questioning, otherwise “strict action” would follow for their “disruptive course of action.”

Third, more than 4,000 teaching positions are vacant for several years, amid an increasing number of guest lecturers. Adhoc appointments are being made Against permanent positions and renewed every four months. Many a time the authorities humiliate the adhoc teachers at renewal time. These teachers are used to weaken the action programmes of DUTA and threatened of dire consequences if they participate in them. Despite no ban on permanent appointments by the UGC or MHRD, the university is not letting colleges appoint permanent teachers. Teaching and non-teaching positions are being increasingly contractised.

STIFLING

SITUATION

In the last one year, DUTA has organised various action programmes including dharnas and demonstrations at various levels. It has met and sought support from the members of parliament of various political parties. Accompanied by CPI(M) MP Sitaram Yechury, DUTA office bearers also met last month the president of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the university, apprised him of the situation and sought his intervention. But, the VC remains unmoved. The situation within the university has become stifling and unbearable for the entire fraternity. The rule of law has been openly and shamelessly thrown to the winds. Emergency powers are being abused.

Over 4,000 young temporary, adhoc and guest teachers continue to be on contract without permanent appointment. Permanent teachers are stagnating in their careers. Promotions that have been due for the last two years or more have not been given as the VC has not allowed the selection committees to meet; even the advertised vacancies have been made to lapse. Moreover, by not allowing appointments, according to DUTA, the VC has also kept at bay the implementation of the 2006 UGC Guidelines on Reservations in all entry-level posts. This is not only retrogressive; it is also unconstitutional as it denies the SCs, STs, and OBCs their right to employment in the public sector, as mandated by the law of the land.

The anomalies and negative service conditions pertaining to the 2006 pay revision have not been removed. The VC is a prominent member of the Anandkrishnan committee appointed by the UGC to resolve these anomalies. The committee had assured the DUTA that its report will be out by June 2012. But nothing has happened. Six bills are pending before parliament which will destroy our education system, and the DUTA is opposing them.

Compelled by this kind of situation, DUTA called for a one-day token strike and a 24 hours hunger strike on August 28 of all the elected teacher members in DUTA Executive, Academic Council and Executive Council. But instead of a dialogue with the DUTA, the VC imposed “no work no pay,” misusing the “standing orders of the Delhi High Court.” One day salary of striking teachers was cut.

About the annual general body meeting of DUTA on September 22, the VC acted much below the dignity of his office and forced the college principals not to let the DUTA use their halls. In this situation, DUTA decided to hold its general body meeting in the lawns in front of VC’s office. However, when the news of the president of India giving appointment to DUTA office bearers accompanied by Sitaram Yechury for September 21 spread, the VC had to bite dust. The principal of the last college denying permission was communicated through its chairman to allow the DUTA hold its meeting. The DUTA general body gave a call to intensify struggle and decided to go on an indefinite relay hunger strike outside the VC's office from October 10. A roster of colleges was made for the participation of their teachers in relay hunger strike.

SPIRIT OF PROTEST

REMAINS UNDAMPENED

Opposing the VC’s repressive actions, DUTA insisted that the venue of the hunger strike would be the VC’s office as it has been for more than four decades. The VC tried his best, called police reinforcement and rapid action force to threaten the teachers and prevent DUTA from holding its action programmes on August 28 and from October 10. For the first time in the DU’s history, the VC got the university gates barricaded by the police. These had to be removed on the strength of peaceful students, teachers and non-teaching staff. The VC is spending huge sums on getting all action programmes videographed.

The DUTA’s indefinite relay hunger strike completed two weeks on Dussehra festival and continues. In the meantime, it involved various methods and organisations to strengthen its programmes. Jana Natya Manch and SGTB College theatre group Ankur staged plays. Parcham, a progressive song group, presented revolutionary songs during the hunger strike. A candle-light vigil was organised along with the hunger strike on October 12 evening. Four hundred candles symbolised the 4000-odd young teachers who have been condemned to continue teaching in adhoc capacity despite being eligible. 

Having faced repression and braving odds, the DUTA movement goes on. It has also rediscovered the Vice Regal Lodge, housing the VC’s office, the seat of British imperialism and atrocities on the Indian people, with the teachers revisiting the Indian freedom struggle and inventing different ways of struggle. On October 18, the relay hunger strike was strengthened by a barefoot march. A large number of students, teachers and non-teaching employees gathered at the hunger strike venue and marched barefoot through the VC’s office, science faculty and arts faculty, and reached the Vivekananda statue. The gates of the faculties which used to be closed for these actions had to be opened by the authoritarian regime that is losing its sleep due to rising protest.

At the call of the DUTA in continuation with the hunger strike, a large number of students, teachers and non-teaching employees are to gather in front of VC office, near the hunger strike’s venue, on October 26. They would protest against contractisation of non-teaching jobs, 4,000 vacant teaching jobs, assault on right to protest, arbitrary academic reforms, lack of anonymity in answer scripts, removal of revaluation, semesterisation and introduction of the meta-college and meta-university system, impending fee hike due to reduction of government subsidies, etc.

The DUTA action programme is attracting other sections of the academia and society. This administration cannot destroy DUTA or the unions of non-teaching employees and students. This university cannot continue to be a laboratory of neo-liberal ‘reforms’ (read ‘deforms’). If the MHRD and the government think that through their lackeys they can convert our higher education system as per their US masters’ wishes, one can only say that they are living in a fool’s paradise. The “trained laboratory assistants” do need to learn something from history.

(October 24, 2012)