For over 3 years, I have learned in BHU that it is an apolitical campus. But the speech of the Prime Minister last week at BHU showed that this is a campus for the ruling party. One of the most reputed universities in India lacks the basic idea of student representation in all the stages. BHU administration hates any political activity from the students and boasts of an apolitical campus, but the administration has multiple views regarding political tolerance.
What happened last week is not just a drama for a day, but may just be the beginning of openly using universities as political platforms. Just think of a university where students are suspended on the grounds that they have a political motive and have the support of political leaders. In the same university campus last week, BHU Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi was on the stage clapping after the political speech of the Prime Minister. I have no issues with what the PM said, but yes, I have an issue as this was not his political assembly. Indeed, it was my campus where he was not supposed to play his political game.
Our Prime Minister delivers lengthy speeches on freedom of speech but doesn’t listen when students are suspended for demanding a library on campus. This is really very disappointing that you used our non-political university as your political assembly where our administration cannot tolerate even a single voice of dissent from the students. From tomorrow onwards, the BHU VC will again say that BHU is an apolitical space and that he will not tolerate any political activity.
A University which has banned students union elections since 1997, suspends students when they raise any issue peacefully, forces me to think. Is this the start of a new era when a ruling government will use universities as their political grounds and their puppet vice-chancellors will stop students from raising any question against the government? Will BHU be a new political platform for BJP in Uttar Pradesh?
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