A Few Questions to AISA

SFI Pamphlet dated 11th July, '08

Release on Maoist attacks against CPI-M workers in Bengal

SFI Release against ABVP

STUDENTS UNITED SHALL ALWAYS BE VICTORIOUS!!

(Above: Submitted by JNUSU President to VC on 10th Aug informing the administration of their breach in the agreement of 12th July and calling for immediate revocation of all punsihments)

(Above: Covering Letter to the 10th Aug letter, submitted by JNUSU President to VC on 17th Aug on the Indefinite Hunger Strike)

(Above: Letter from Chief Proctor's office stating the unconditional withdrawal of punishment of Jyotsna, JNUSU Jt. Secy) (Above: Letter from Chief Proctor's office stating the unconditional withdrawal of punishment of Dhananjay, JNUSU President)
(Above: Letter from Chief Proctor's office stating the withdrawal of punishment of Sandeep, JNUSU General Secretary, which is clearly based on the regret letter submitted by him on 17th July, and also granted by the administration after taking into cognizance his 'good conduct' during the interim period. It also warns him "not to repeat in future incidents like the gherao on 19th February, 2007")

CARRY FORWARD THE LEGACY OF PRINCIPLED STRUGGLES AGAINST ADMINISTRATION!!

DEFEAT THE HYPOCRITE AND TREACHEROUS ULTRA-LEFT!!

We congratulate the student community for the withdrawal of the fines on the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary by the JNU Administration. Though the insensitive administration had taken a stiff position, it was the long and arduous struggle waged under the leadership of the SFI-AISF that the adminsitration was forced to come to the negotiating table and accept all the genuine demands of the students. By using the Gherao of the Registrar on 19th February, 2007 as a pretext, the administration had sought to crackdown on the JNU student movement. However, the valiant struggle of the students under the banner of the JNUSU which included a 12 day indefinite hunger strike during the month of June-July compelled the administration to accede to the students' demands.

While the SFI kept reiterating the position that the JNUSU Office-bearers should not give any sought of appeal to the administration as it would undermine the sanctity of the JNUSU as an institution that has had a historic legacy of 3 decades of valiant struggles, the AISA and its General Secretary in the JNUSU went overboard submitted appeal letters to the administration along with the other concerned students. The administration went back on its agreement with the JNUSU on 12th July, '07 and imposed fines on the 8 concerned students even though they had submitted appeal letters as pointed out in the agreement. The administration also revoked the fine on the JNUSU Genereal Secretary, Sandeep (displayed above) based on the regret letter he had submitted. However, the revocation was clearly on the condition that he had to watch his behaviour in future. This clearly reflected his meek surrender before the administration, thereby treacherously back-stabbing the entire student movement. Following his path, the other 8 students after offering lame opinions, also paid their fines to the administration to get their registrations done, inspite of the continous appeals by the SFI and the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary not to do so.

However, the SFI mainatined its principle position and refused to submit any letter to the administration or pay even a single pie as fine. Carrying this forward, the JNUSU President submitted two letters to the Vice-Chancellor on 10th and 17th August, '07 (Displayed above) asking him to intervene in the matter and not to precipitate things, thereby creating an impasse. It was also conveyed to the VC in letter on 10th Aug that the JNUSU would be forced to go into agitational course of action if the punishments were not revoked. The covering letter dated 17th Aug clearly stated that since the JNU administration had not revoked the fines, the JNUSU had launched an indefinite hunger strike. Following this pressure, the adminsitration was forced to get its act together and revoke the punishments on the JNUSU President & Joint Secretary through two letters from the Chief Proctor's Office. This revocation carries no conditionality and also the text & tenor do not point out any need to watch their behaviour or the fact that punsihments were being revoked for their "good conduct" unlike in the case of the JNUSU General Secretary.

This victory once again reaffirms the legacy of the JNU Student Movement and its pivotal force, the JNUSU wherein the glorious and valiant struggles waged in the last 30 years have led to major achievements for the student community. The SFI-AISF led JNUSUs in the past years have upheld this tradition and thorugh the numerous struggles have time and again defeated the nefarious designs of the administration. The compromising positions of the Ultra-Left in the campus, that is the AISA and DSU have once again stands exposed before the students who refuse to go beyond the rhetoric and easily succumb before the adminsitration. We appeal to the student community to isolate such treacherous and spineless forces and rally behind the SFI-AISF in the coming days to achieve all the genuine demands of the students.

SFI Pamphlet 14th Aug, '07

August 14, 2007

RISE IN DEFENCE OF THE JNUSU!
ISOLATE THE TREACHEROUS ULTRA-LEFT!!

Friends,

The JNU administration has so far refused to revoke the fines imposed upon the President and Joint Secretary of the JNUSU. The last date for registration being over, the fact that the administration has stuck to this patently unjust and outrageous position of imposing fines upon JNUSU office-bearers, proves that the real motive behind the punitive actions taken on the apparent basis of the 19th February incident, was to weaken and browbeat the JNU student movement and its spearhead, the JNUSU.

The JNUSU President and Joint Secretary have taken a principled position of not paying the fines, imposed upon them on the grounds that they were “unable to control the situation” on 19th February. It is highly unfortunate that the General Secretary of the JNUSU has got his fine waived by striking a deal with the administration and submitting an individual appeal expressing regret over the 19th February incident. The JNUSU Council and the UGBM having collectively expressed regret in the last semester, there was absolutely no basis for any of the JNUSU office-bearers submitting regret letters on an individual basis. Neither was this a part of the agreement between the JNUSU and the JNU administration. It is clear that by breaking ranks with the other office-bearers, the General Secretary of the JNUSU has become a party to the nefarious design of the JNU administration to politically victimize the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary. This is yet another instance of a sordid betrayal of the JNU student movement by the ultra-Left.

From glorifying the gherao of the Registrar after 19th February to the abject surrender before the administration by the General Secretary of the JNUSU and the activists of AISA and DSU, who paid their fines yesterday, the ultra-Left has traversed the entire cycle: from an act of sheer adventurism to an unprincipled and pathetic submission before the authorities. This does not surprise the SFI, since all this is typical of the ultra-Left. It fits so well Lenin’s description of the Left-deviation in the Communist movement: “The petty bourgeois ‘driven to frenzy’ by the horrors of capitalism [violation of minimum wages in JNU in the present case] is a social phenomenon which, like anarchism, is characteristic of all capitalist countries. The instability of such revolutionism [the gherao of 19th February], its barrenness [glorifying the gherao initially and denying it later], its liability to become swiftly transformed into submission [JNUSU General Secretary submitting an individual apology letter to the administration and AISA and DSU activists eventually paying fines], apathy, fantasy, and even a ‘frenzied’ infatuation with one or another bourgeois ‘fad’ [leveling false accusations against the SFI and the CPI (M) and blaming them for everything] — all this is a matter of common knowledge.” (Excerpt from Leftwing Communism, An Infantile Disorder).

The cynical attempts by the AISA and DSU to justify their crass surrender before the administration and payment of fines in their pamphlets yesterday also fits well Lenin’s description of “Leftwing Childishness”: “There could not be better confirmation, in political literature [AISA and DSU pamphlets issued yesterday], of the utter naïveté of the defence of petty-bourgeois sloppiness [paying the fines after calling them ‘unjust’] that is sometimes concealed by “Left” slogans [DSU pamphlet had the heading ‘Two Steps Forward, One Step Back’].” Writing on compromises, Lenin had written: “There are compromises and compromises. One must be able to analyze the situation and the concrete conditions of each compromise, or of each variety of compromise. One must learn to distinguish between a man who gave the bandits money and firearms in order to lessen the damage they can do [JNUSU and UGBM expressing regret on the 19th February incident] and facilitate their capture and execution, and a man who gives bandits money and firearms in order to share in the loot [JNUSU General Secretary submitting regret letter to the administration and AISA/DSU paying fines in order to fix the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary]…to reject compromises ‘on principle’ [like AISA and DSU], to reject the admissibility of compromises in general, no matter of what kind, is childishness, which it is difficult even to take seriously. A political leader who desires to be useful to the revolutionary proletariat must know how to single out concrete cases when such compromises are inadmissible, when they are an expression of opportunism and treachery, and direct all the force of criticism, the full edge of merciless exposure and relentless war, against those concrete compromises [the present surrender by the ultra-Left]…that is really tantamount to the worst kind of opportunism, treachery and betrayal.” (Excerpt from Leftwing Communism, An Infantile Disorder) In keeping with this understanding, the SFI hereby declares an ideological-political war against this opportunism, treachery and betrayal by the AISA and DSU.

AISA and DSU, through their actions have once again proved that ‘Left’ and rightwing deviations are two sides of the same coin. Writing in 1937 Comrade Mao Tse Tung had said: “We are opposed to die-hards in the revolutionary ranks whose thinking fails to advance with changing objective circumstances and has manifested itself historically as Right opportunism. These people fail to see that the struggle of opposites has already pushed the objective process forward while their knowledge has stopped at the old stage. [AISA and DSU have failed to realize that the valiant agitation fought under the JNUSU leadership has changed the objective situation] This is characteristic of the thinking of all die-hards. Their thinking is divorced from social practice and they cannot march ahead to guide the chariot of society, they simply trail behind, grumbling that it goes too fast and trying to drag it back or turn it in the opposite direction. [By submitting regret letters, paying fines and surrendering before the administration] We are also opposed to ‘Left’ phrase mongering. The thinking of ‘Leftists’ outstrips a given stage of development of the objective process; some regard their fantasies as truth, while others strain to realize in the present an ideal, which can only be realized in the future. They alienate themselves from the current practice of the majority of the people and from the realities of the day, and show themselves adventurist in their actions [the gherao of 19th February].” (Excerpts from On Practice)

The surrender and betrayal by the ultra-Left should not, however, be allowed to weaken the JNU student movement. SFI calls upon the JNUSU to launch an immediate agitation against the JNU administration demanding the revocation of fines imposed upon the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary and implementation of the agreement signed with the administration, involving enhancement of MCM scholarship, UGC fellowship and other demands. SFI calls upon the student community to rally behind the JNUSU to defend its prestige and sanctity and successful implementation of the agreement between the JNUSU and the JNU administration, which the latter is trying to violate.

Sd/- Roshan Kishore, President , SFI-JNU; Rajiv Kr Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU.

SFI-AISF pamphlet on Agitation

STUDENTS’ FEDERATION OF INDIA
ALL INDIA STUDENTS’ FEDERATION
July 21, 2007
On the Successful Struggle led by the JNU Students’ Union!!

Dear Friends,

The JNU Students’ Union, under the leadership of the SFI-AISF, recently led a successful struggle against the rustication of 8 student activists, fines on three office bearers of the JNUSU and the students’ charter of demands including issues like increase in Merit-Cum-Means scholarships etc. The agitation was a prolonged and difficult one, especially because it was fought during the summer vacations when most of the students were not present in the campus. The JNUSU carried this struggle for 18 days including 12 days of indefinite hunger strike by the JNUSU President Dhananjay along with the JNUSU Vice-President and 4 other students. The JNU administration, which had tried to browbeat the student movement by victimizing student activists, had to finally relent and accept the demands of the JNUSU.

Adventurism of the Ultra-Left on 19th February

The present tenure of the JNUSU, the leadership of which is divided between SFI-AISF and the ultra-Left AISA, has seen two starkly different approaches towards the student movement. In the month of November, last year, the JNUSU along with some concerned student activists had raised the issue of violation of minimum wages for contract workers at various construction sites in JNU. A memorandum was submitted to this effect to the administration, which came out with only a halfhearted response and refused to take the matter seriously. A movement was gradually building up when things took an ugly turn because of an adventurist act by the ultra-Left.

On 19th February 2007, a demonstration called by the JNUSU was converted into a sudden gherao of the Registrar inside his car. On the Registrar’s instruction, posters demanding minimum wages for workers had been torn off from the administration block the same morning. The car of the Registrar was tied up with a rope while he was inside it, black paint smeared on it, posters pasted on the car and its tyres deflated. One student even climbed above the car and shouted slogans. Ultra-Left activists from the AISA (ML-Liberation) and the DSU (Maoists) took the lead in the gherao. The JNUSU office-bearers and other activists of the SFI-AISF, who did not participate in this action, couldn’t however prevent it from happening. Following the gherao, teachers from different departments came to appeal to the students to release the Registrar. They talked to the JNU administration and assured dialogue with students on the minimum wage issue. However, in characteristic ultra-Left style, they were called dalals of the administration and humiliated. It was indeed very unfortunate that teachers, who have always been the democratic ally of the JNU students in struggles against anti-student moves by the administration, were treated with such contempt. Ultimately, the gherao was lifted after 6 hours. This incident marked a new low in the politics of JNU.

However, rather than realizing the extent of adventurism that they had indulged in, a hunger strike was started on the same night and a flash strike called the next morning demanding an ‘apology’ from the JNU Administration for tearing off posters. The flash strike saw another round of ugly episodes with the teaching community. Pamphlets celebrating the gherao and calling the teaching community ‘arrogant’ were distributed in the campus. Things were moving in a dangerous direction. The JNU Teacher’s Association came out with an urgent appeal to the administration as well as the students not to precipitate matters. The JNUSU office-bearers and councillors from SFI-AISF demanded an immediate Council Meeting of the JNUSU to consider the appeal issued by the JNUTA. With the General Secretary of the JNUSU from the AISA squarely refusing to call a meeting of the JNUSU Council, the SFI-AISF decided to dissociate from the ongoing agitation. This dissociation was blithely labelled by the ultra-Left as ‘betrayal’ of workers’ rights.

The JNU administration wasted no time in cracking down on the students. Suspension orders were served to 10 students including the JNUSU President and Joint Secretary from the SFI-AISF. Some karamcharis who had participated in the agitation were also suspended. Crass adventurism displayed by the ultra-Left on 19th February in JNU created a tense atmosphere in the campus. It was in this backdrop that the SFI-AISF took the lead in salvaging the situation. At the behest of the SFI-AISF, a formal Council Meeting of the JNUSU held on 23rd February resolved to express regret for the 19th February incident (AISA representatives abstained on the resolution). This was followed by a massive Joint Public Meeting of the JNUSU, JNUTA, JNU Karmachari Association and JNU Officers’ Association to reaffirm the democratic traditions of JNU and demanded the withdrawal of the suspension orders served against the students and karamcharis. The meeting was addressed by several senior faculty members including Profs. Prabhat Patnaik, Jayati Ghosh, CP Chandrashekhar, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Anuradha Chenoy, Purushottam Agarwal, Arun Kumar, Vivek Kumar, Ranjini Majumdar, Vikas Rawal, K.J.Mukherjee and Chamanlal (who is the JNUTA President). All the faculty members criticized the gherao of the Registrar and urged upon the JNUSU and the students not to precipitate matters. While upholding the legitimacy of the struggle for ensuring minimum wages for workers, the faculty members said that struggles in JNU have to be conducted in keeping with the democratic ethos of the university. Prof. Prabhat Patnaik said that JNU is a premier institution of higher learning in the country which is leading the intellectual battle against neoliberalism and imperialism. Nothing should be done to vitiate the impeccable academic environment in the campus and weaken the institution.

Correcting the Aberration

The JNUSU office-bearers from the SFI-AISF argued that the incident of 19th February was an
unfortunate aberration in the student movement. Numerous movements have been conducted in JNU under the SFI-AISF led JNUSU in the past where democratic forms of protest have, without an exception, led to fulfilment of the demands being raised. Significant struggles were waged over the past few years through democratic means; for building more hostels, constituting the GSCASH, rejection of the X Plan Proposals, enhancing the MCM scholarship etc; all of which were successful in mobilizing large sections of students and other sections of the university community and finally compelling the administration to concede the legitimate demands of the students. Indulging in adventurist acts in the name of protest has never been the tradition of the JNU student movement. Such acts indulged in by handful of students discredit the student movement, undermine its legitimacy, isolate the JNUSU from other sections of the university community and strengthen the hands of the administration. The worst
form of such reckless adventurism was seen in 1983, which led to the eventual sine die closure of the university, for which the JNU student movement had to pay a heavy price.

It was precisely for this reason that the SFI-AISF decided to take the initiative to make a course correction and bring the student movement back on track. The JNU administration initially constituted a three-member committee of Professors to deal with the entire matter. Out of the 10 students who were suspended, 6 expressed regret over the 19th February incident through individual letters, reiterating the JNUSU Council resolution. Based on this, their suspensions were withdrawn on 7th March. The DSU initially defied the JNUSU Council Resolution and took a position that they would not express regret over the incident. A University General Body Meeting (which is the highest decision making body of students as per the JNUSU Constitution) held on 8th March endorsed the JNUSU resolution expressing regret and rejected the DSU position of not expressing regret for the 19th February incident. After the UGBM, the DSU made a volte-face and submitted letters of regret to the administration on 13th March. This opportunistic posturing of the DSU did not go down well within the student community. However, the JNUSU office-bearers from SFI-AISF took the position that no disciplinary action should be taken by the administration after the students have expressed regret. The suspensions of the remaining 4 students were withdrawn on 16th March 2007. The SFI-AISF also took a position that in view of the regret expressed collectively by the JNUSU Council, the UGBM as well as the individual students who were suspended, there was no case for a separate Proctorial enquiry into the matter.

Administration’s high-handedness Meets Resistance

Though the suspension orders were revoked, the JNU administration had not abandoned its intention of coming down heavily on the student movement using the 19th February incident as a pretext. Despite the regret expressed by the JNUSU Council, the UGBM and individually by the students concerned, the administration rusticated 8 students and imposed a fine of Rs. 2000 each on three JNUSU office bearers. This order was served on 22nd June during the summer vacations as part of a well thought out plan by the administration. The ABVP and the Youth For Equality, true to their reactionary and anti-student character, came out in open support of the administration’s action and even went to the extent of demanding harsher punishment for the JNUSU office-bearers. In this backdrop, the JNUSU under the leadership of the SFI-AISF, launched an immediate agitation against the high-handedness of the administration arguing that after the expressions of regret both collectively and individually by students, such harsh punishments were totally unacceptable.

A relay hunger strike was started on 23rd June demanding revocation of punishments as well as the fulfilment of the long pending students’ charter of demands, including workers’ rights. The understanding behind combining these two issues was that the administration had come out with these punishments precisely to scuttle the positive agenda of the JNUSU. The Charter of demands included increasing the amount of MCM scholarship for B.A/M.A./M.Sc/M.C.A students from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500, to ensure that the scholarships announced by the UGC for research scholars be given with retrospective effect from July 2005, to bring gender violence under the purview of the GSCASH, to democratise the Equal Opportunity Office, to accept aleemeyat/fazeelat certificates for admissions to B.A 1st year, to build a mechanism to ensure minimum wages for workers and some other demands. After 6 days of relay hunger strike, the administration far from relenting went ahead and implemented the punishments by double-locking the rooms of the rusticated students. The JNUSU decided to intensify the agitation in response and an indefinite hunger strike was started from the night of 30th June led by the President of the JNUSU.

The JNU administration initially adopted a tough posture and the VC held a press conference to justify the punishments on the basis of the 19th February incident, conveniently avoiding any mention of the regret expressed by the JNUSU, the UGBM and the individual students. This created widespread discontent against the administration within the university community. The administration had clearly underestimated the strength of the JNU student movement and the goodwill and support it enjoys both within and outside the campus. The agitation gathered momentum, when a host of former JNUSU office-bearers, including former JNUSU President Sitaram Yechury came to JNU and addressed a massive public meeting in solidarity with the agitation on 7th July. Other former JNUSU office bearers who addressed that meeting were D. P. Tripathi, Prof. Anand Kumar, Prof. Ajay Patnaik, Amit Sengupta, Kavita Krishnan and Albeena Shakil. All the speakers drew instances from their own experiences as office-bearers of the JNUSU and upheld the legitimacy of the present agitation. They argued that the strength and maturity of the student movement of JNU was that it could correct itself on its own if any mistakes were committed in the course of a struggle, without any ‘external’ correctives like disciplinary actions by the administration. In a move that enthused the student community of JNU, Sitaram Yechury while commending the JNUSU for having expressed regret on the unfortunate incident of 19th February, gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the administration to open dialogue with the JNUSU; otherwise he said that the matter will no longer remain within the confines of JNU and would become a national issue. He also said that while at times an eagle may fly lower than a hen; a hen could never attain the towering heights, which an eagle can. “The JNUSU is the eagle and the administration is the hen”, said Com. Yechury amidst thunderous applause. Within 48 hours the JNU administration opened dialogue with the JNUSU.

Struggle Culminates Successfully

On the 12th day of the indefinite hunger strike after three days of prolonged dialogue, the administration was compelled to agree to the just demands of the JNUSU. In the agreement signed with the JNUSU, the administration has agreed that all the rusticated students would be given registration by 14th August (last day of registration for monsoon semester) on the basis of an appeal expressing regret. This agitation also succeeded in making substantial gains vis-à-vis the students’ charter of demands. The JNU administration has agreed in principle to start the M.Phil/PhD scholarship with effect from July 2005 and would pursue the matter with the UGC. The MCM scholarship for B.A/M.A./MCA/M.SC students has been increased to Rs.1500 per month from Rs.1000 per month and the family income cap for eligibility for MCM scholarship has been raised from Rs.75000 per annum to Rs. 1 lakh per annum. The issue of inclusion of gender violence in the purview of the GSCASH in the light of the Domestic Violence Bill has been sent for discussions at the School level. The administration has also agreed to set up a permanent body comprising students, teachers and karamcharis to monitor and ensure minimum wages for all casual workers. The recommendations of the equivalence committee for recognition of madarsa certificates in JNU will be pursued with the HRD Ministry by the administration. The process of democratising the Equal Opportunity Office will also be expedited. All these achievements were registered despite a nefarious attempt by the NSUI to
sabotage the agreement between the JNUSU and the administration at the last moment through backdoor manipulations.

As far as the fines imposed upon the JNUSU office-bearers are concerned, the SFI-AISF has taken the position that they should be revoked unconditionally. The ultra-Left, including the General Secretary of the JNUSU from AISA, insisted that the JNUSU office-bearers should also express regret once again in writing. The SFI-AISF has rejected this position on the basis of three arguments: (i) The JNUSU office-bearers have already communicated to the administration in writing the JNUSU Council resolution expressing regret on the 19th February incident. The UGBM, which is the highest decision making body of the students, have also collectively expressed regret. There is no reason why the JNUSU office-bearers should express regret individually once again. (ii) The fines imposed upon the JNUSU office-bearers are on the grounds that they were ‘unable to control the situation’ while those who were rusticated have been held responsible for specific acts like deflating the tyre of the Registrar’s car, tainting the car with black paint, using abusive language and instigating students for the act. It is clear that the JNUSU office-bearers were not personally involved in any of the adventurist acts on 19th February in any way — they have been fined only because they are JNUSU office-bearers. (iii) The AISA and the DSU had initially celebrated the 19th February gherao as an act of heroism and it was only after the initiative taken by the JNUSU office-bearers from the SFI-AISF and the appeal issued by the JNUTA that they realized their folly. AISA abstained from voting in the JNUSU Council on the resolution expressing regret. While they subsequently changed their position in the UGBM and stood by the Council resolution, the DSU opposed the Council resolution terming it a sell-out to the administration and refused to express any regret. It was only after their line was rejected by the UGBM that they made a volte-face and submitted letters of regret, that too for ‘inconvenience caused, if any’. In contrast, the SFI-AISF has taken a principled position right from the beginning that the 19th February incident was an aberration, argued for expressing regret for the same and held that any disciplinary action following the expression of regret would be unacceptable and fought tooth and nail. After having walked the talk, there is absolutely no question of the JNUSU office-bearers expressing regret once again. In fact SFI-AISF is also opposed to the General Secretary of the JNUSU from AISA submitting a regret letter, which for some strange reason he himself wants to do. The JNUSU officebearers, being elected representatives of the student community, have to defend the sanctity of their office against efforts by the administration to browbeat them.

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

Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, AISF-JNU.