Converging Struggles and Diverging Interests: A look at the recent unrest in universities By Hany Babu MT https://cafedissensus.com/2016/09/15/converging-struggles-and-diverging-interests-a-look-at-the-recent-unrest-in-universities/
Extracts: the struggle of APSC at IIT Madras and ASA at University of Hyderabad has to do with the coming of age of Dalit Bahujan student politics in our universities. While most of the earlier struggles were to attain equality – be it to implement reservation or end discrimination – the struggle against the banning of APSC at IIT Madras and that of ASA at University of Hyderabad involved issues that had to do with freedom of speech and expression. This shift indicates the readiness of these Associations to take up issues that affect ‘citizens’ at large as opposed to classes of citizens (say, the SC, ST, or OBCs). Interestingly, such a distinction is made in the legal discourse between the right to equality and right to freedom of expression...
..Dalit Bahujans, who are the victims of discrimination in all walks of life, are still struggling for ‘equality’, and the dominant student groups do not participate in these struggles as discrimination in terms of identity is not something they have to be wary about. However, once the question is about freedom of speech and expression, they sense a danger. As equal citizens, they are extremely vigilant about their right to freedom. This is not to say that freedoms of speech and expression are not issues that affect Dalit Bahujans. It is just that winning more basic fights is what they are largely occupied with. The same kind of apathy can be seen towards the struggles of the religious minorities and tribals against illegal arrests and prolonged incarceration in the name of terrorism and state security...
..Human Rights Watch, an NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, in its 2016 report has classified the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as a law that restricts freedom of expression. The report holds as problematic the 2015 amendments in the Act that ban an expression that “promotes or attempts to promote feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will against members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes” and that “disrespects any late person held in high esteem by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Schedule Tribes.” It is interesting to note that this report puts the Prevention of Atrocities Act in the same basket along with draconian laws like the sedition law (section 124A of the Indian Penal Code). What is missed here is the obvious fact that while the former is meant to protect the vulnerable sections of society, the latter is intended to uphold the might of the State and is often used to further crush the vulnerable sections of society (given the large number of tribals and Muslims who are charged under the sedition law)...
..What I have been trying to show is that even while the struggles of various student groups seem to be converging, their basic interests still diverge. The dominant upper-caste-led groups are yet to take an active role in the struggle to make universities a more inclusive space. And till universities begin to represent social diversity proportionately in all the rungs of their hierarchy, they will continue to replicate social inequalities and prejudices.