People's Democracy

Comrade Sajin Shahul

The following is the press statement issued by the SFI on October 1.

THE central executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India salutes the brave martyr Comrade Sajin Shahul, who succumbed to injuries on October 1. He was attacked by RSS-ABVP goons in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Comrade Sajin was a student of Government ITI, Dhanuvachapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, and was in the forefront of the fight against communal-fascist forces. The fatal attack occurred on August 29, when RSS-ABVP thugs attacked his institute and threw bombs at SFI activists. Com. Sajin, who was only 18 years old, suffered serious head injuries and was on ventilator for a month until he passed away on October 1.

Violent attacks by Sangh parivar goons are nothing new to our campuses; it was only one year ago – on September 26, 2012 – that another SFI activist, Comrade Rohit was brutally murdered by ABVP hooligans in Himachal Pradesh for having stopped them from harassing a girl student of his college. In Kerala, where the SFI has fought a determined and uncompromising battle against communalism in campuses, its activists have been the targets of Hindutva terrorists for a long time now. Thousands of SFI activists have bravely faced such attacks in various parts of the country, and many, like Comrades Sajin and Rohit, have had to put their lives on the line in the course of this protracted struggle.

SFI dips its banner in honour of our valiant comrade and pledges to continue the fight to fulfill his unfinished tasks. The CEC of SFI appeals to the student community to rise up in protest against the dastardly murder of Com. Sajin, and calls for an All India Protest Day on October 3, 2013 to be observed all across the campuses and units of the country in militant solidarity with our struggle against communal-fascism.