Students and our history
Photo: STAR
Student politics and ''weapon'' politics in universities and other teaching institutions are not the same thing. So banning student politics may not be healthy for the nation at all. In the last few months a number of so-called intellectuals and non-intellectuals have written, arguing against student politics. The reality is that when big boys ''and big girls'' have failed to understand our politics and economics, it is the students who have shown them the way through theory and practice. There is definitely no question of using weapons, but why should student politics be banned to degrade intellectual and creative ideas? The same point applies in the case of teachers' politics as well. When great anomalies in foreign policy are noticed, students are vocal in the United States and other western countries also. Because of the failure of politicians in America during the Vietnam War and over the Iraq blunder, students came out on to the streets, which is very healthy. We need to remember that students' consciousness has been part and parcel of our history, especially through the milestones of 1952, 1971 and 1990. Let all stakeholders in the present situation, including the caretaker government, teachers, university authorities, students unions, political leaders and civil society,revise their thinking on the issue.
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