HIMACHAL PRADESH 

Students’ Struggle Continues Under Aggressive Repression 

Swatantra Chauhan 

LED by their elected Students Central Association (SCA), students of the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla, are waging a grim struggle against the university administration for some time past. The struggle has assumed a mass form and extended beyond the borders of the Shimla campus to different colleges in the state, amid severe repression unleashed by the police and administration. The university’s chancellor (the state’s governor) and the chief minister are yet to react to the struggle that has snowballed. It appears the state is deliberately ignoring this struggle by the elected union that has the Students Federation of India (SFI) as the guiding force.

ISSUES OF  STRUGGLE

 For the last few months, various sections of people are engaged in struggles led by the Kisan Sabha, CITU, SFI and DYFI. These organisations have consistently organised struggles in different parts of the state on issues affecting the people and against the anti-people policies pursued by the BJP-led central and state governments. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is leading a struggle in Chamera hydroelectric project against the repression on workers by JP Industries. The Kisan Sabha has led an agitation for stop to extraction of timber by the State Forest Corporation at Ghanvi unless 50 per cent of revenue accruing from it is spent back on the developmental need of this neglected area. These mass struggles have been going on for long. 

In this situation comes the prolonged agitation in the HPU campus. It is going on for about two months now and gets sustenance from the support coming not only from the mass of students but also from the people. The struggle goes on despite the gross excesses committed by the Shimla police and administration against students. The elected SCA held negotiations with the university administration in mid-October on some issues concerning the mass of students. The demands included those for support services, like purchase of new buses for day scholars, more hostel facilities and better library facilities, etc. Some of the issues raised by the SCA concern not only the students but also the mass of people in Himachal Pradesh. An issue of direct concern is the way the present administration is running the only general university in the state, with the patronage of the BJP government. The demands on this issue include that of transparency in appointments --- right from that of registrar, consultants and teachers down to Class III, Class IV and technical employees. Right now such people are being appointed in a most corrupt manner --- not only without formal interviews but, at places, even if there are no such posts. The vice chancellor’s long absence from the campus, hiring out properties to people outside the state to benefit those with connections, administration of the university in violation of its statutes and ordinances, etc, are also included in the agitation’s demands. The SCA was forced to ultimately give an ultimatum to the vice chancellor to resolve these issues or face an agitation.

QUESTION PAPER SCAM

One more issue is of question papers. It involves gross irregularity, printing mistakes, poor quality printing, wrong patterns of questions, etc. Question papers of, say, first semester were found sealed in envelopes on which “Second Semester” was printed. In fact, the job of printing the question papers was assigned to a press not in accordance with the stipulated norms but because it belongs to the VC’s close relatives. This press used to print small pamphlets till the university showered colossus favour upon it during the last one and a half years by placing with it large orders for printing question papers for various examinations. The expenditure on this head has arisen sharply to around Rs one crore; this is not only huge but also unjustified. The SCA and the SFI have been demanding a judicial or CBI probe into the affair.

These irregularities have caused a lot of inconvenience, agony and academic losses to thousands of undergraduate, postgraduate and M Phil students. The SFI time and again raised this issue that has been agitating the students. It organised a convention in June to focus the problems the students are facing, along with the university’s loss of prestige. But no action was taken.

 ABVP’S SHAM AGITATION 

During the 2001-02 session, it was the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), an RSS outfit, that controlled the SCA and Students Council. Even though various irregularities were taking place with impunity, the ABVP-led SCA did not raise these issues and kept pursuing the interests other than those for which it was elected. However, when the ABVP got a drubbing in the recent SCA elections by a record margin, it planned to raise these issues in view of their potential to capture the students’ imagination. It also planned to harass the SFI-led SCA as, by October 2002, within two months in office, the SFI-led SCA had forced the university officials to concede many demands concerning the students and had achieved mass acceptability.

The ABVP had another agenda too --- to harass the vice chancellor and promote the interest of the pro-vice chancellor who is their mentor on the campus. The most important part of their hidden agenda was to pressurise the VC in order to secure some jobs for its activists in teaching faculty and in strategic positions like editor, public relations officer, etc, so as to have complete control of the university. Earlier, for the purpose, the ABVP had tried to bring pressure from the ministers but that had failed to click, as the VC enjoyed direct patronage from the governor, i e, the HPU chancellor.

The ABVP staged dharnas on many days. But it soon got exposed. For, apart from sections of university community, even one vernacular daily committed to promote the BJP interests strangely published on its front page about the ABVP’s job securing agenda. Exposed by the SCA- and SFI-led agitations and the media alike, the ABVP tried its best to create a law and order problem on the campus. Five ABVP goons entered the SCA president’s hostel room on December 24 night and attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.    

DECEMBER 26 INCIDENT

When the ABVP drama was going on, the SCA was struggling to get its demands conceded. It organised rallies, demonstrations, and even forced the university’s top brass to keep out of the campus for many days. As usual, the VC was absent from his office for a considerable period on unjustified tours; it is regular practice for him to evade his responsibility to the university community. During the period when the student unrest was at its peak, he was away from November 13 to 30 and again from December 12 to 24.

Then, suddenly, the VC came to his office on December 26 and invited the SCA for talks on the prevailing situation. At about 10.30 a m, however, when nearly 30 SCA members went to the main gate of the VC’s office, they found a heavy police force deployed there, led by Chander Shekhar, additional superintendent of police, Shimla, who is notorious for his anti-student attitude. When the SCA members reached the gate, this officer allowed only 6 students to enter the gate, saying they were enough to talk to the authorities. These included SCA president Kuldeep Bhardwaj, vice president Trilok Bhaluni, secretary Sudhir Dutta, SFI state president Vijender Mehra, popular SFI activist Harish and SFI state secretary Manoj Chandel.

But as soon as these student leaders entered the office complex, the main gate was locked. Then began the game the university and police authorities had planned. The police subjected all those outside the main gate to an unprovoked and brutal lathicharge, grievously injuring several. They arrested many of them and kept beating them even after the arrest.

Another drama unfolded on the other side of the wall. Led by the same officer, the police entered the VC office complex via another gate. Before the 6 student leaders could reach the second gate to enter the VC office, the ASP asked a junior police officer, Inspector Sharma, to break a windowpane from inside and then asked the police to brutally beat the 6. The ASP led the attack himself. The police inflicted on the 6 leaders several blows with lathis in the constricted passage and the VC office corridors. They were beaten till they fell down and received several grievous injuries.

Not satisfied with this, the police picked up their victims and threw them into a police van, while continuing to beat them with lathis. Then followed the second round of attack in the confinement. The nightmare did not end there, however. The police did not give them any medical aid for days together, nor were they medically examined, even after a lot of pleading in police station. They were finally booked under cooked-up charges.

As a result of the police beating, elected president, Kuldeep Bhardwaj, got a fracture in his leg, Vijender Mehra and Manoj Chandel got fractures in arms. Sudhir Dutta, Trilok Bhaluni and Harish got blues on their backs and legs. The arrested students were released on bail on January 2, but their belongings were not returned. The police also refused to give them back the money they were carrying at the time of arrest on the pretext that it was spent on their medical treatment. The injured students, though, did not get any treatment.

And now a significant part of the shameful episode. Cordoned safely by the police, ABVP men sitting on a dharna kept shouting: “Police administration go ahead, we are with you!” No more proof of connivance was needed.

 REPRESSION MULTIPLIES                  

Severe repression followed this gross human rights violation and suppression of the right to protest. The aggressive police personnel stopped many students not involved in this agitation from entering the examination hall. Giving a glimpse of its fascist modus operandi, the university summarily rusticated as many as 23 students, an unprecedented number, without following procedures like personal hearing --- all at the instance of police superintendent. The list includes all the elected SCA office-bearers and reads like Who’s Who of HP SFI. The district authorities and university administration conspired to clamp section 144 CrPC on the campus.

However, to their credit, girl students violated the section many times. Also, they forced the authorities to cancel the order to vacate hostels during exams.

SFI activists now took their agitation to the city. The police and district administration then clamped on the whole city a prohibitory order under section 144 CrPC. Yet, the SFI went on challenging the order by its militant actions, now joined also by DYFI, CITU and Kisan Sabha cadres.

LATHICHARGE AGAIN

As students violated section 144 many a time, the administration felt helpless against their determination. However, acting on an order from their masters, the police again went berserk and attacked many students with lathis on January 3, when a large contingent was taking out a procession to protest the attacks on their democratic rights. Policemen manhandled girls and kicked them into a bus. They further misbehaved with the girls in the police station. They also attacked press photographers and journalists who were trying to capture in their cameras the scenes of policemen manhandling girl students. At the time there was no policewomen at the site. Thirty-six students including 8 girls were taken into custody.

But the struggle continues.

Addressing the media on January 5, SFI and SCA leaders jointly said the struggle would continue even though the university had closed for winter vacation on January 1. The form of struggle may change. The SCA and SFI have demanded a probe into the malfunctioning of university administration and the VC’s omission and commission by a sitting High Court judge, while the VC must be asked to go on a long leave. The judicial inquiry must also cover the police excesses on students as well as the misbehaviour with girl students and media persons. The leaders also urged the people of Himachal Pradesh to extend support to their ongoing just struggle.