‘Campuses to Streets’: AISA Raises Alarm Over Democracy, Saffronisation and Privatisation of Education
Bengaluru, September 5: The All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Friday organised a public event titled ‘Campuses to Streets: Is Democracy Under Siege?’, focusing on the growing challenges to dissent, democracy and academic freedom on college campuses.
The event brought together student activists, academics and writers to discuss what the organisers described as increasing attacks on education under the BJP-RSS government. Particular attention was drawn to the alleged saffronisation, centralisation and privatisation of education, with concerns raised over their impact on Karnataka.
‘Students Must Claim Their Democratic Rights’
JNUSU Secretary Comrade Danish Ali, the first speaker, recalled journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh’s courage, describing her assassination as a stark reminder of the risks faced by those who challenge the establishment. She alleged that activists across the country are increasingly being jailed for speaking against the government and criticised the continuing privatisation and saffronisation of education.
Referring to the NEET protests, Ali said they represented only the beginning of citizens asserting their democratic rights. She stressed that students must actively participate in politics and stand up for democratic values.
‘Classrooms Becoming Caste-Rooms and Communal-Rooms’
Sociologist Dr. Lakshmipathi C G argued that casteism and patriarchy often begin within families and subsequently find expression in educational institutions. He highlighted alleged discrimination faced by Dalit students on campuses and said Muslim students in several Karnataka colleges also face persecution.
“Classrooms today have become ‘caste-rooms’ and ‘communal-rooms’,” he said, expressing concern over the erosion of equality and scientific thinking through what he termed increasing saffronisation.
Dr. Lakshmipathi also condemned the privatisation of education in Karnataka and identified Hindutva ideology as the fundamental force behind the problems being challenged.
Booklet Highlights Education Crisis
The speakers subsequently launched ‘Education Under Siege’, an AISA booklet examining the present condition of education in India, with particular emphasis on Karnataka.
Meena Kandasamy Condemns ‘Heightened Censorship’
Author Meena Kandasamy said Gauri Lankesh’s assassination signalled a dangerous escalation, arguing that the right wing had moved beyond attempts to imprison activists to allegedly eliminating them physically.
She criticised what she described as heightened online and offline censorship under the BJP regime and said the label ‘Dimagi Naxal’ was deliberately coined to suppress ideas that did not conform to Hindutva ideology.
Kandasamy stressed that public demands must go beyond symbolic resignations and warned that Hindutva had contributed to deepening communal divisions across India.
The programme concluded with a cultural performance by AISA members and was attended by more than 150 people.
