Release on Maoist attack in Bengal

SFI-AISF pamphlet on 9th Aug, '07

9/08/07

Unite against the authoritarian administration!!
Revoke all fines on rusticated students and JNUSU President and Jt Secretary!!
Isolate and defeat the opportunist politics of AISA &DSU!!

Friends,

The SFI AISF congratulates the student community for their spirited protest against the breach of agreement on the issue of revocation of punishments to 11 students by the administration. Yesterday’s protest march and a total strike in the university today has sent a strong signal to the administration that the student community would not tolerate such breach of faith by the administration and the completely unjustified and unethical fines imposed on the rusticated students and the JNUSU President and Jt Secy must be removed. We would appeal to the students to remain united behind the JNUSU in any future course of action decided by it. Only a rock solid unity of the student community would ensure that the JNU administration is forced to remove all these fines and implements its own agreement in letter and spirit.

The SFI AISF firmly believes that the JNUSU President and Jt Secy should not tender any kind of appeal to the administration to get their fines revoked. It is highly unfortunate that the Gen Secy of the JNUSU has given yet another appeal expressing regret to the administration in order to get his punishment revoked. As of now he is the only one among the 11 students who is not facing any kind of punishment. Unable to provide any explanation to the student community for this meek surrender in front of the administration the AISA and the DSU is accusing the JNUSU President and Jt Secy of breaking the agreement with the administration.

We would like to repeat some questions to the AISA which they have not answered so far. The AISA had accused that the JNUSU President and Jt Secy are violating the UGBM resolution by not submitting these appeals. We would like to ask the AISA that which UGBM resolution mandated the JNUSU office-bearers to tender another round of appeals to the administration. The UGBM clearly said that there should be an unconditional withdrawal of all punishments against these students. In fact it was the DSU which violated the UGBM mandate. The regret letters submitted by their suspended students after the UGBM said they regretted the inconvenience caused if any, which is a clear violation of the UGBM resolution. This is why the SFI AISF was opposed to submitting any kind of appeals to the administration when the agreement was being discussed in an all organization meeting. It was only when the rusticated students expressed their willingness to submit these appeals that we decided not to come in the resolution of this process. But as far as the JNUSU office-bearers are concerned there is no question of them giving yet another round of appeal. The agreement clearly mentions that all concerned students would be enabled to register on the basis of appeals submitted to the administration. The JNUSU office-bearers have not been denied their registration in the first place. And this is why the Gen Secretary’s act is all the more shameful where he and his organization have gone overboard in order to placate the administration.

We would also like to ask the AISA and the DSU whether or not they sincerely regret the incident which took palce on the 19th of February. Both of them had celebrated the Gherao in their pamphlets after the 19th. The AISA representatives had abstained on the resolution expressing regret moved by the SFI AISF in the council. The DSU also opposed the resolution of the council in the UGBM. In fact charges were leveled both by the AISA and the DSU that by expressing regret over what transpired on the 19th the JNUSU President and the SFI AISF had compromised with the legacy of struggles which the JNUSU has been known for. We would like to ask the AISA and the DSU that if they were so convinced about not expressing regret over the incident of 19th why did they do it at all?

This double speak is all the more interesting with the AISA. Ever since the 19th when in came to accepting within the student community that this incident was a regrettable one and was not in accordance with the democratic traditions of protest, which the JNU student movement is known for the AISA has had a lot of problems. But they did not have any problems in expressing regret in front of the administration at any point of time. Nothing else can explain their fiery revolutionary rhetorics against any kind of regret by individual students in the UGBM when all 3 suspended students form AISA including the JNUSU Gen Secretary had already submitted their individual regret letters.

Such double speak and political bankruptcy clearly reflects the degenerate and unprincipled stance of the ultra left vis-à-vis the JNU student movement in our campus. The SFI AISF and the student community no not need any lessons from them as on what constitutes the sanctity and prestige of the JNUSU. The sheer bankruptcy of their position emerges from the fact that within a span of 5 months they have arrived at a completely opposite stand on the question of regret. After 19th February it was being said that expressing regret would undermine the Sanctity of the JNUSU and now it is being argued that it the JNUSU President and Jt Secy do not give appeals they are undermining the Sanctity of the JNUSU. So much for their alternative model of the JNUSU! It is highly unfortunate that the ultra left is using the language of the administration and in a subtle manner of the right wing in the campus which has been saying that the JNUSU office bearers are the one who were the biggest culprits in the 19th February incident.

Acting in their typical petty bourgeoisie infantile style the DSU has accused the SFI AISF led JNUSU of tokenism in the name of protests. We would like to warn the DSU against such attacks on the JNU student movement which only shows their lack of understanding and commitment towards the JNUSU. We would like to make it clear to these ultra revolutionaries that movements and protests are not won on empty rhetoric but by mobilizing students against the administration. The entire campus had seen the steadfast commitment of the SFI AISF activists when they worked tirelessly during the agitation to ensure that all the unjust punishments against the 11 students were withdrawn. SFI AISF led JNUSU have had a glorious history of struggle against both authoritarian administrations as well as reactionary and right wing political attacks on the secular democratic culture of our campus. As far as tokenism is concerned we would also like to ask the DSU that why did their activists not come in the school (except a couple of them) to help the JNUSU enforce its strike in the morning. Was DSU showing only a token support for the JNUSU strike? The student community of this campus has always shown these ivory tower revolutionaries their due place in JNU and if they continue to indulge in baseless and unjustified attacks against the JNUSU then they would be given a fitting rebuff for this kind of opportunism and sectarian acts.

We also appeal to the AISA to stop spreading confusion and misinformation among the students and maintain a unity against this authoritarian administration. If their Gen Secretary does not have the spine to stand up against this administration in order to get his punishment revoked we would appeal to the AISA not to create any obstacles in this struggle. The students of this campus would not tolerate any breach of agreement by the administration or any attempt to browbeat the office of JNUSU which has been the vanguard of the student movement in this campus since the last 3 decades.

Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU.

Sd/- Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, AISF-JNU.

SFI Pamphlet on 6th Aug '07

Shame On AISA’S Continuing Defense Of Violence In The Campus!!

Date: 06/08/07

Friends,

Acting in the most shameless and politically bankrupt manner the AISA is continuing with its defense of the incident of 3rd August where Rajan Pandey, a Joint Secy of their JNU unit indulged in a serious act of violence against a YFE activist at the Ad Block. Devoid of any logical defense (which is not possible for such a condemnable act of violence) they have vented out their frustration by attacking the SFI in their yesterday’s pamphlet. The SFI’s description of the incident of that day is an eyewitness account of what happened there and we would appeal to the AISA to stop spreading their lies and doctored stories in trying to defend Rajan. Also it fails our understanding as to how the SFI is responsible for the different versions of that incident by different organizations. In a ridiculous manner the AISA has alleged that the SFI has hidden the fact that Sumit had been discharged from AIIMS day before yesterday. We would like to make it clear to the AISA that the SFI was not reporting the whereabouts of Sumit in its pamphlet. What needs to reckoned with is the fact that Rajan’s attack on Sumit caused him serious injuries and he had to be hospitalized. We strongly believe that such incidents of violence have no place in our campus and are an attack on the progressive democratic culture of this university which has been built after a long and arduous struggle by the students of this campus. We would still appeal to the AISA to show some political integrity and courage to honestly accept that Rajan’s act of violence that day is a condemnable thing and can not be justified on any grounds. We would like to question the AISA that if they are so confident about Rajan’s innocence then why has he disappeared from the campus instead of facing the student community?

Accusing the SFI of Mahajot with the YFE : yet another example of AISA’s political bankruptcy:

The AISA has accused the SFI of entering into a grand mahajot with the YFE and other right wing political organizations because it has taken a position against Rajan’s act of violence. Such an accusation only reflects the degeneration of AISA’s so called radical and alternative model of the student movement in JNU. We would like to make it clear to the AISA that taking a position on violence against an individual does not mean that one supports his/her politics. The SFI has no illusions about the castist and reactionary politics of the Youth for (In) equality in this campus. The progressive student movement of this campus has always shown these organizations their due place in the political spectrum of JNU. We would also like to remind the AISA that it was only because of SFI’s valiant struggle against the divisive and caste based politics of the YFE that the students of this campus decided to give the leadership of the JNUSU in terms of the President’s post to the SFI in last year’s JNUSU elections. But we have always held that the only way to defeat and isolate these forces is waging a political struggle against them and mobilizing students against them on a political and ideological basis. The SFI has always fought tooth and nail against any oppression or act of violence by the right wing lumpens in this campus. We would like to remind the AISA that it was only because of the spirited struggle by the SFI and its JNUSU representatives that punishment was given to the JPF lumpens in the incident of caste abuse and violence against a dalit student in Lohit and Chandrabagha hostels last year. The SFI does not believe that going around and indulging in violence against right wing political activists would strengthen the Left movement in this campus. We would also like to warn the AISA against making such accusations and taking the consciousness of student community for granted in this manner. If lumpenism and violence have become the weapons for fighting organizations like the YFE for AISA’s brand of left politics in this campus, then the progressive student community would give a fitting rebuff to such political ideological bankruptcy.

Who has been acting as an agent of the administration!:

Continuing with their doublespeak and shameless behaviour the AISA has accused the SFI of taking a pro administration stand. We would only like to remind them about the recent agitation where the students have clearly seen the commitment and hard work of SFI AISF activists against the unjust punishments given to 11 students in the 19th February case. In fact we would like to question the AISA about why they have not been able to answer any of the questions raised by us on the submission of appeal by the General Secretary of the JNUSU, who is from their organization. His meek surrender before the administration which has still not revoked the rustications and fines on the students even after more than 3 weeks of a written agreement is nothing else but a complete betrayal of the student movement. We would advise the AISA to indulge in some self introspection before parroting their ultra revolutionary zeal in front of the student community of JNU.

The SFI appeals to the student community to isolate this kind of degenerate and unprincipled politics which would only weaken the left democratic student movement of our campus. We also appeal to the supporters of AISA to think about the kind of activities, which their organizational leadership is doing and justifying in the name of left politics in this campus.

Sd/- Roshan Kishore, President, SFI-JNU.

Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU.