SFI's call for uttrakhand relief fund collection

A colossal tragedy has struck Uttarakhand in recent days, with hundreds of lives lost (the death toll is rising everyday) and whole villages, roads and communication links wiped out. Rescue and evacuation operations are still going on in the worst-affected regions of the state, and need to be continued on a war-footing. SFI demands that the Central Government extend every help needed to the State government in relief operations.

The State Government, apart from making full use of its own machinery to provide relief to those affected, must also strive to harness and channelise the collective energy of various organisations for the purpose. It must also investigate the role that the indiscriminate tunnelling of hills by power projects and the uncleared dumps of silt had to play in this calamity. As the unfolding disaster shows, the result of a development strategy feeding upon untrammelled deforestation and unchecked construction activities has turned out to be catastrophic.

The CEC of SFI extends its deep condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, and stands in solidarity with the lakhs of people affected. It calls upon its units all over the country to collect funds and materials urgently for relief to the affected people.

Students pledge fight against Fascism, for democracy!

The atmosphere at Nazrul Mancha was revolutionary! Young students in thousands, belonging to SFI, AISF, AISB, PSU filled the air with the promise of a new dawn, when exploitation shall be no more, no one in position to snuff out young lives fighting for the democratic rights for all. They reaffirmed their promise of ‘Freedom, Democracy, Socialism’. The soft but grim voices of students reminded the world of the Marxist promise of a better world, their Red Salutes, their slogans, an ode to the immortality of Sudipta would ring in the ears of the thousands, for years to come, assembled to pay homage to the martyrdom of young Sudipta Gupta on the 2^nd of April, by a brutal police of a fascist government.

History was invoked, Neruda, Spartacus, Ulysses, Comrade KV Sudesh, who was butchered, cut into 21 pieces by the bourgeoisie government of Kerala, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Sunil, et al, giving voice to man’s eternal rebellion against injustice; a symphony of young, trembling voices taking individual anger & rebellion to its crescendo, ’Revolution’.  Auteurs Mrinal Sen & Tarun Mazumdar registered their anger in their blunt expression of solidarity to their cause.

Speaker after speaker, from all the four left student organisations railed against the insensitivity of the Mamata government, decried its attempt at denying the students their political rights, enshrined in India’s constitution. They took an oath of continuing the fight that Sudipta gave his life for. Ritabrata, National Secretary, SFI was solemn throughout his speech but comprehensively denounced the politics of the campaign against politics. He reminded everybody that modern politics has been born out of the modern desire of people to fight for their rights. The royalty or feudal lords did not need ‘Politics’, it is the exploited multitude who need to fight for their rights. The current government’s action in stopping student union elections is a fundamental step against democracy. When its spokesmen & patronised intellectuals build a case against party politics, it is primarily conspiring to weaken the people’s fight, as the target is always the left. In the absence of the left, the default correlation of political forces swings in favour of the ruling class & specifically, ‘Capital’.

Today’s memorial service will remain a milestone in the Bengal’s people’s fight for democracy & justice. It will prove to be a turning point in the imminent fight against the Mamata government which is fast shedding its fig leaf of being democratic & exposing its fascist underpinnings. This government, apart from encouraging the lumpen in Bengali society has taken concrete steps to destroy the democratic structures built over the last 34 yearsof left rule. College & University management bodies, which were represented by all its stakeholders, students, employees, professors, etc were replaced by handpicked individuals. Elections to co-operative societies were stopped. Associations of the policemen were banned only to be replaced by her minions. Student union elections were stopped, using the incident of a policeman’s death during a college election process, by her own leaders. It was against this that the SFI staged a civil disobedience movement & Sudipta was killed in police custody. This was when she crossed the Rubicon of Fascism, with her police taking over the role played so far by her ‘Brownshirts’. Undeterred, she has gone on to inciting her partymen to destroy thousands of party offices of the left & the murder of over 90 of left workers & leaders. Her government has also actively derailed the 3-tier Panchayat elections which have taken place like clock work since it was first instituted by the first Left Front government in 1978. In a bid to reverse the gains of the land distribution done by the left, it has led a hundred farmers to their death.

The people of Bengal are rising in anger against this tyrannical government. Comrade Sudipta Gupta’s death shall not go waste, as the students resoundingly established today.
Long Live Comrade Sudipta!  Long Live the Revolution!

SFI Kerala State Conference begins

The 31st State Conference of the Largest students organization in the State, Students Federation of India,  officially began with the hoisting of flag at the public meeting venue, Fort Maithanam rechristened in the name of the great martyr Com. K V Sudheesh in Palakkad Town. The conferece will be from 26th to 29th July.  Reception committee chairman Com. M B Rajesh MP hoisted the flag.  

Students federation of India (SFI) is the largest student movement in the state having a membership of around twelve lakhs. SFI which formed in the year 1970, in its march forward under the banner of independence Democracy, socialism for the past forty years was able to withstand stiff resistance offered by enemies of the people. In the battle for a better future several of my comrades were killed tortured and academically victimized. The organization has outlived all this and become a leading force in uniting the students basis of martyrdom and glorious sacrifies of the rank and file of the organization. I welcome all students to join SFI the true inheritors of the glorious traditions of the pre-independence student movement to march forward for the well wish of student community in the state and to join hands with struggle of the exploited sections of our society for a social transformation.

SFI State president K.V. Sumesh, and secretary P. Biju said a rally, in which 25,000 students would participate, would be taken out from the Government Victoria College ground to Fort Maidan at 3 p.m. on Thursday. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will inaugurate a public meeting to be held after the rally. Book Exhibition, Seminars, Short Film Festival, Arts Competitions etc were conducted as part of the conference which attracted a large section of the students.

The delegates session of the  conference  will be inaugurated by famous Atomic Scientist Subhiman Sen on Friday 27th July. The Delegate session will be held in the Town hall named after the martyr com. Aneesh Rajan.

SFI - 14th All India Conference Reception Committee Formed in Madurai

The 14th All India conference of Students Federation of Indian will be held in Madurai on September 4 to 7 . A 601 member Reception Committee was formed with Com. N Sankaraiha as the Honarary President of the Reception Committee. The meeting was presided over by SFI Tamilnadu state President K S Kanakaraj. CPIM State secretary Com. G Ramakrishnan, SFI All India President Com. P K Biju MP, Secretary Com. Rithabrata Banarjee were present during the ocassion. The meeting elected Advocate.R.Vaigai as the chariman of and , Comrade J.Rajmohan as Chairman and Secretary of the Organising committee respecctively. .G.Meenakshi Sundaram was elected the treasurer of the organising commintee. The meeting also elected 56 Vice-Presidents' and 56 Joint-Secretary for the committee.

SFI alliance retains Hyderabad Central University students union

For the second year in a row in University of Hyderabad alliance between Students’ Federation of India and the Ambedkar Students’ Association (SFI-ASA) won the students union poll.

The united Left combine of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) swept the elections to the Hyderabad Central University Students Union (HCUSU) winning all the positions with a comfortable majority.

The presidential candidate Prashanth polled 1,513 votes and won with a margin on 554 votes while general secretary candidate Sampath of SFI polled 1,442 votes and won with a margin of 492 votes.

Office bearers

The other office bearers who won include Ravi Kumar (vice-president), Srinivas (joint secretary), Mohd. Nazma Begum (cultural secretary), and Subash (sports secretary). Kanthi Nanduri and Manisha Sampath won the posts in the Gender Sensitising Committee Against Sexual Harassment. 

The nearest rivals in all the positions were from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) who polled more than 900 votes for all the posts except the joint secretary post.

The Telangana Students Association (TSA) that associated itself with Bahujan Students Front (BSF) to project the Telangana issue finished third while the candidates supported by the NSUI secured the least votes.

Com. Sambath, who has been elected as the general secretary, said the election is a victory of the ideas upheld by the Students’ Federation of India.

Suresh G, SFI unit president, credited the victory to the achievements of the outgoing union under the same alliance. The average margin of victory of the newly- elected bunch of students was more than 680 votes. It has to be noted that SFI started an unit in HCU only in 2004.

CPIM demands judicial probe into Kozhikode firing

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a judicial probe into police firing on students at Government Engineering College here yesterday. Inaugurating a dharna Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) demanding ouster of student Nirmal Madhav, who got admission by violating norms, party State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said today a judicial probe could only unravel the government’s role into the firing. Stating that the police had opened fire on Students Federation of India activists, who were on a peaceful agitation, he also demanded stringent action against the police officers involved in the incident.He said the officer, who opened fire was 'mad' as he resorted to the action without provocation and clearance from a magistrate. Justifying the SFI stir, he said Nirmal Madhav, who had completed only two semsters in a private self-financing college, was not eligible for admission to a government engineering college that also in the fifth semester. Cautioning that the brutal police action could not weaken mass movements in the state, he said the agitation by the student and the youth wings of the party would continue till its logical conclusion. More than 30 people, including SFI State Secretary P Biju, were injured in police lathicharge on agitators at the college premises.

SFI sweeps Himachal Pradesh Students union elections

SFI made a clean sweep at Himachal Pradesh University students central association (CSA) elections and has held onto its stronghold at the institution. SFI had won all four seats of SCA last year also and has been the dominant outfit on the campus for many years. In a clean sweep, the SFI has won 42 out of 44 seats of various department representatives and a majority of college elections in the capital town of Shimla and the major colleges of the BJP-dominated Kangra and Hamirpur districts.

At HPU Puneet Dhanta was declared winner as president by defeating Deepak Manta of ABVP by a margin of 536 votes. NSUI had put up Naveen Thakur as their candidate.

For vice president, Lokender Kumar of SFI was declared winner, defeating Kumari Shiva of ABVP by a margin of 673 votes. Hoshiar Singh (SFI) defeated Yadunandan of AVBP by 676 votes for the position of general secretary and Manju Thakur (SFI) piped Maheshwar Singh of ABVP by 585 votes. Panel of NSUI candidates Naveen Thakur, Sachin Verma, Ashwani, Anil Kumar ended third in the triangular contest. 

The SFI panel also made a clean sweep at the Government College Kotshera College, Sanjauli Government College of Excellence and Government college Theog. According to the results declared by colleges  the SFI improved its performance by sweeping all the four seats at the Sarkaghat college and wining the top two seats at the Jogindernagar college. In Ram Singh Pathania College, Dehri, the SFI won all the four seats. SFI  swept all the four seats in the MCM DAV College in Kangra. Abeshek Chandel was elected as president, Amit Manhas vice-president, Monika Dhadda general secretary and Abeshek Mehra joint secretary, respectively. Government College, Chowari - Dalhousie, the Students Federation of India (SFI) captured all the four seats: President Vikas Sharma , vice-president Neel Kumar , general secretary Suresh Kumar  and joint secretary Aarti Devi . In Government College, Dehri, all the four seats were won first time by the SFI. Kumar Anubhav, Ruchi Guleria, Hunny and Rohit Guleria, respectively, won the posts of president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary.

SFI Andhra Pradesh Committe to conduct State-level educational conference in

The Students Federation of India (SFI) will conduct a State-level Educational and Science Conference featuring classes by subject experts for its members at Manchikanti Hall in Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh from May 26 to June 1. In a statement, the SFI Andhra Pradesh State secretary K. Chandramohan said that renowned academician and MLC Chukka Ramaiah will inaugurate the conference. The subject experts including a host of former SFI leaders will deliberate on a wide range of issues concerning the welfare of the students and the education system as a whole during the classes. A two-day plenum of the SFI will be held at the same venue here on June 2 and 3. CPI (M) Andhra pradesh State secretary B. V. Raghavulu, noted academicians V. Balasubramanyam, K. S. Lakshman Rao, M. V. S. Sarma and others will participate.

Condition of student hostels in Tamil Nadu pathetic: SFI

The condition of several students' hostels under the purview of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, and the Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Departments are pathetic, according to the Students' Federation of India (SFI).

 

Addressing a press meet in this connection here on Saturday, SFI State president K.S. Kanakaraj said many students staying in the hostels across the State would come together in Chennai and take out a rally on February 9 to draw attention to the issue.

According to the SFI, nearly 600 government hostels were functioning out of rented premises. Inadequate space and bathroom and toilet facilities, poor quality of food and the lack of a systematic grievance redressal mechanism made life challenging for most students, Mr. Kanakaraj said. “The amount sanctioned by the government for expenses on food is Rs.15 per school student per day, and about Rs.18 per college student per day. With the price rise we are seeing today, how will these be sufficient,” he asked.

Students were unable to get the necessary nutrition and were forced to find part-time jobs. “We see many students working part time with catering service providers at weddings. They go and help the cooks by serving and cleaning so that they can have that one good meal,” Mr. Kanakaraj said. To a question on hostels being overcrowded in the city and relatively emptier in rural areas, Mr. Kanakaraj said that in many hostels, particularly in rural areas, students were forced into labour. “From fetching drinking water to cleaning hostels, students are asked to do all the work. Some find this tedious and go away, at the cost of their education.” CPI (M) State Secretary G. Ramakrishnan will address the rally.

SFI cadres marches in support of democracy in Egypt

Activists of the Students' Federation of India staged a protest near the Egyptian Embassy here on Tuesday to express solidarity with the “Million March” in Cairo and to support the “ongoing movement for democracy in Egypt”.

Holding placards denouncing the establishment in Egypt, students marched towards the Egyptian Embassy in the afternoon. The demonstration culminated in a public meeting near the Embassy where All-India Democratic Women's Association member Subhashini Ali, Jana Natya Manch member Sudhanva Deshpande and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Albeena Shakil addressed the meeting.

The speakers expressed solidarity with the protesting people and condemned the repression by the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The role of the United States in the Arab region and its support to the regime was denounced.

The speakers emphasised the “increasing inequalities and anti-people policies under globalisation” as the main factor behind the protests. The Indian Government was also criticised for not showing “support for the pro-democracy struggle.”

“The strategic alliance” of the Indian Government along with the United States and Israel was cited as the cause for lack of support for the people of Egypt.

SFI sweeps Asutosh college election in West Bengal

SFI swept the election, held for students council in Calcutta's Asutosh College, winning 19 of the 20 seats being contested. The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad got only one. On December 16, Souvik Hazra a second year student and active supporter of SFI got injured in his eye when TMCP attacked a SFI election rally in front of the college. Later, Souvik, lost his eye due to the injury. SFI state committe congratulated the students after the vitory.

Semi-Fascist TMC Terror on Academic Institutions and education system

Transcending even the semi fascist terror of seventies the education environment of West Bengal is under serious threat of TMC goons. After a long and smooth democratic functioning of almost two decades, schools and colleges have been facing the semi-fascist terror from TMC-Maoist combined force. During filing nominations for students’ election in Jagabandhu College, Andul, Howrah, on 16th December, 2010 TMCP-guided outsiders and local criminals killed Comrade Swapan Kole, a second year commerce student in a series of unprecedented brutal attacks. The killing was so atrocious in nature that has quavered the conscience of mass psyche in the state. 

TMCP hooligans nakedly guided by their state leaders Madan Mitra, Bobby Hakim unleashed attack on SFI workers and common students in Ashutosh College on 16th December. The incident started with a physical assault on SFI candidates and common students while they were filing nominations. They were driven outside the college premises where TMC leaders guided the whole operation. Souvik Hajra, a SFI supporter got a severe injury in his left eye. Doctors expressed little hope for any recovery of the eye.

Students of Ashutosh College on protest blockaded the Hazra crossing and organized a huge rally in the adjacent area. To shift however the media spot away from such open attacks and intimidations, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee made a false allegation on SFI workers to have rallied toward her Kalighat residence. Party Secretary Biman Basu in a press conference on 17th December slammed Mamata for making such false allegation against common students. SFI state leadership also reiterated that they had no programme to go to TMC chief’s residence.

The carpet assault however continues when five students of St. Paul’s College, Kolkata were attacked in Salkia Howrah on 17th December. FIR has been lodged against three TMCP goons in Golabari Police Station. SFI state committee has called all students of the state schools and colleges to observe Black Day on Saturday 18th December and a general strike on 20th December.

On the other side, TMC-ally Maoists have killed 7 Forward Block workers in Jhalda block, Purulia. The brutal attack was probably in reply to a recently organized mass meeting by the district Forward Block. Left Front chairman Biman Basu condemned the assault unequivocally and urged people to identify the true ‘enemy’ of the state.

An unprecedented series of attacks on left workers specially CPI(M) leaders and workers unleashed in West Bengal that already have taken huge death toll of more than 300 martyrs of Bengal. The attacks are so planned and motivated that kill not only the party workers but hit class identities also to curb down organized movements in the state. The situation has got worsen when, in last one year or more, teachers, students, non-teaching staffs of schools, colleges have been under serious threat of lives. More than 10 teachers have been killed only in Jangal Mahol last year.

On 4th September Maoists in Salboni, West Midnapore, dragged Headmaster Dibakar Mahato out of the school and killed in front of the students. He was teaching mathematics to class-III students. Rabindranath Mahato was killed by Maoists as he motivated his students not to rally with Maoist organization PCPA. Subimal Mahato of Ranga High School, Purulia, was also brutally killed by Maoists.

March to Parliament by National Forum in Defense of Education

Thousands of people comprising of students, teachers, non-teaching employees and officers of schools, colleges & universities, youths, parents and activists of people’s science movements marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in a rally raising issues related to education.

This rally was held after a national convention held on 13^th August formed a National Forum in Defense of Education in Delhi. 

The rally raised slogans criticizing the anti-people policies of UPA II Government and its neo-liberal ‘reform’ agenda in the field of education and resolved to force the Central Government to accept the demands.

The rally was addressed by a large number of leaders of the participating organizations and leaders and MPs of Left Parties.

James Williams, the president of the AIFUCTO was the president of the Presidium. The rally was addressed by Ashok Burman; General Secretary AIFUCTO, Ritabrata Banerjee; general Secretary SFI; Basudev Acharya; MP CPI M, Abani Roy; MP RSP; D Raja; MP CPI, Barun Mukherjee; MP FB, Rajendran; general Secretary STFI, Amresh Kumar; General Secretary AISB, Sunny Kutty; General Secretary RYF, Tapas Sinha; General Secretary DYFI, Sohan Das; BGVS, Mukesh Kumar; AIUEC and Vishnu; PSU.

A number of MPs also attended the rally including P K Biju; President SFI, P Karunakaran’ M B Rajesh, K N Balagopal, Saidul Haq, Shakti Mohan Malik.

The speakers focused on the policies of the central government aimed at pushing centralisation, privatisation and commercialisation of the education sector in the country which would undermine the goal of expansion, excellence and equity in education. They said the goal of expansion, excellence and equity can only be achieved through increased public spending based on a democratic education policy.

The speakers also attacked the government over the issue of corruption and said the amount of money involved is much more than what was required to meet the needs of providing equitable and quality education in the country. They warned the government against ignoring the demands being made failing which the struggle would be intensified in the coming days.

Charter of Demands

·         Allocate 6% of GDP for Education as committed in the CMP of the UPA-1 Government.   

·         Include pre-primary to senior Secondary education under the purview of the Right to Education. Central Government should bear all the expenditure for implementing the Right to Education. Increase the number of schools along with strong social monitoring mechanism involving local stake holders. Delete the provision, Section 35 of the Act, requiring prior permission for any prosecution. The 86^th Constitution Amendment (2002) should be revisited to make the right to education inclusive of common school and neighborhood school.

·         Recruit quality teachers on a permanent basis. Remove the freeze on appointments and cuts in teaching and non-teaching positions. The para-teachers/ contract teachers  and employees should be absorbed on permanent basis.

·         Oppose handing over of public educational institutions’ infrastructure and management to the private sector in the name of Public Private Partnerships.

·         Reject fee hike. Fully subsidize students from economically backward and disadvantaged backgrounds.

·         Enact a central legislation to bring all private self-financing institutions under strict social control.     

·         Implement constitutionally mandated SC/ST/OBC reservations in all educational institutions.

·         Fight all attempts to undermine the democratic control of the Parliament, State Assemblies and statutory structures of Universities and colleges (including through instruments like NCHER). Fight against centralization of education.

·         Oppose FDI in Education.

·         Scrap the FEI Bill and amend the other recently introduced bills to make them democratic.

·         Scrap private universities and deemed university status to private institutions.

·         Stop bringing education under GATS (WTO).

·         Use Information Technology for Distance Education to provide universal lifelong quality education. Do not commercialize distance education.

·         Undertake Assessment for improvement not Accreditation or Funding. Evolve a democratic and transparent mechanism for Assessment.

·         Uphold democratic rights in the sphere of education. Hold elections for Students’ Unions, Teaching and Non-Teaching Associations. Provide elected representation in all decision making bodies.

National Forum in Defence of Education - March to Parliament on December 2, 2010

A massive rally will be organized on 2 December 2010 in front of Parliament in which several thousand students, teachers, non-teaching employees and officers of schools, colleges & universities, youths, parents and activists of people’s science movements from all over the country will participate. They will first assemble at Ramlila ground and then march to Parliament.

The rally will be to protest against the anti-people policies of UPA II Government and its neo-liberal ‘reform’ agenda in the field of education and to force the Central Government to accept our demands. These policies are aimed at pushing centralisation, privatisation and commercialisation of the education sector in the country. Such policies will undermine the goal of expansion, excellence and equity in education which can only be achieved through increased public spending based on a democratic education policy.

The call for this rally was given by ‘National Forum In Defence Of Education’ which was formed in a Convention of fifteen organizations of students, teachers, non-teaching employees and officers of schools, colleges & universities, youth, parents, people’s science movement held on 13^th August at New Delhi.

Charter of Demands

•  Allocate 6% of GDP for Education as committed in the CMP of the UPA-1 Government.   
• Include pre-primary to senior Secondary education under the purview of the Right to Education
• Central Government should bear all the expenditure for implementing the Right to Education. Increase the number of schools along with strong social monitoring mechanism involving local stake holders. Delete the provision, Section 35 of the Act, requiring prior permission for any prosecution. The 86^th Constitution Amendment (2002) should be revisited to make the right to education inclusive of common school and neighborhood school.
•  Recruit quality teachers on a permanent basis. Remove the freeze on appointments and cuts in teaching and non-teaching positions. The para-teachers/ contract teachers  and employees should be absorbed on permanent basis.
• Oppose handing over of public educational institutions’ infrastructure and management to the private sector in the name of Public Private Partnerships.
• Reject fee hike. Fully subsidize students from economically backward and disadvantaged backgrounds. 
• Enact a central legislation to bring all private self-financing institutions under strict social control.    
• Implement constitutionally mandated SC/ST/OBC reservations in all educational institutions.
• Fight all attempts to undermine the democratic control of the Parliament, State Assemblies and statutory structures of Universities and colleges (including through instruments like NCHER). Fight against centralization of education.
• Oppose FDI in Education.
• Scrap the FEI Bill and amend the other recently introduced bills to make them democratic.
• Scrap private universities and deemed university status to private institutions.
• Stop bringing education under GATS (WTO).
• Use Information Technology for Distance Education to provide universal lifelong quality education. 
• Do not commercialize distance education
• Undertake Assessment for improvement not Accreditation or Funding. Evolve a democratic and transparent mechanism for Assessment
• Uphold democratic rights in the sphere of education. Hold elections for Students’ Unions, Teaching and Non-Teaching Associations. Provide elected representation in all decision making bodies.

SFI Condems Rahul Gandhi's comparison of Mao with Narendra Modi

Press Release - Students Federation of India                                                  28-11-2010

 In a statement made yesterday Mr. Rahul Gandhi has equated Narendra Modi with Mao Zedong.

Mao Zedong, who led the revolutionary transformation of China in the 20th century, is one of the greatest leaders and political thinkers of the world.  The Chinese revolution is one of the most significant events in world history, where the world’s most populous country ushered in a new era after a long drawn struggle against feudal and colonial exploitation. To compare such a personality with Narendra Modi, whose regime aided genocide against Muslim minorities in Gujarat in 2002, is an affront to the struggle of toiling masses throughout the history of humankind. Such an understanding can only arise from one’s inability to differentiate between the struggle against injustice and exploitation, and attempts to flare up fascistic hatred against religious minorities.

 The statement reveals Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s erroneous and preposterous understanding of politics and world history.