Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR, Sept 29: Seasoned players of Kashmir politics have of late found a new turf to wrestle – the University of Kashmir. As a result academicians are losing focus and the study atmosphere in the varsity is getting vitiated.
University insiders and senior professors believe that the increasing intrusion of politicians, conformists as well as dissenters, into the varsity has victimizing its academic and developmental aims – more particularly for the past five years.
To dominate the podium of Kashmir’s highest seat of learning, the leaders have been doing more harm than good to the budding researchers, entrepreneurs, managers, politicians, economic experts, teachers and lawyers of the valley.
“It has been a universally accepted norm that educational institutions should enjoy unhindered academic autonomy. Convocations, conferences, seminars and debates are important aspects of the learning process in the Universities. But when politicians dominate the academicians in these processes consuming the time, attention and resources of the administration, education is bound to suffer,” says a senior professor of the Varsity, not wishing to be identified for obvious reasons.
The University’s administration seemed in high spirits on Sep 27 after the 18th convocation function addressed by newly elected President of India Pranab Mukherjee ended without any ‘disruption or breach of protocol’.
To make the five hour function a success, hundreds of students, teachers, and officers of the varsity had to pool in their efforts constantly for the past one month- obviously at the cost of their class work. And for the strife ravaged people of the valley, the day meant shutting their shops, schools and businesses altogether, and the campus turned in a garrison.
Over 1000 students and resident scholars in the university had already been told to vacate the hostels three days prior to the visit of the President as a security measure.In disgust many scholars had announced of wearing black ribbons to protest the inconvenience to them, but decided against it after an unsigned statement from, now defunct, Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU) appeared in newspapers calling for observing the ‘week’ as ‘black’.
“It seems a mockery when they (authorities) say that it is for the intellectual development of the students and then they kick them out on the very occasion. Not only students lose focus but the rhythm of whole session is broken,” said a scholar.
“Any academic or administrative issue confronting the scholars takes a back seat,” he said.
‘Tug of war’
Hailing the ‘students call of boycott’, pro-Pakistan leader, Geelani accused pro-India politicians of ‘misusing university’ for political interests.
“The policy makers of India are using Kashmir University as their launching pad to give a beautiful tinge to New Delhi’s control on Kashmir,” said Geelani. “Academic institutions are now being used for political activities, hence targeting our children psychologically,” he said.
Almost five years back, just few months prior to eruption of Amarnath land agitation in the valley, the then varsity Chancellor and state Governor SK Sinha surprised everyone by rechristening the ‘Centre for Kashmir Studies’ into ‘Institute of Kashmir Studies’ to promote the “real spirit of Kashmiriyat”.
The aim, according to the speech of Sinha, was ‘to study Kashmiriyat in all its aspects of culture, literature, history and philosophy’.
The chancellor’s ‘unnecessarily increased’ attention in the affairs of Kashmir University raised voices not only in the varsity but even among the civil society. Sinha was dubbed by many academicians to promote his agenda of ‘Safronising’ the University.
As massive protests erupted across valley in the autumn of August 2008 against the transfer of land in Pahalgam to Shri Amarnath Yatra Shrine Board, the focus shifted to law and order situation outside the campus.
As Congress-PDP government fell, Sinha retired followed by governor’s rule and conduct of elections, giving ample space to the University to function without much hindrance.
‘Blame game’
But in 2009, it was Geelani who reached Kashmir University for depositing his book in Iqbal Library and ended up with an hour long address to the students and teachers in the lawns of the library atop his Ambassador car.
The surprise visit of the veteran separatist followed by his speech advising the audience to “carry the freedom movement as leaders of future” prompted passionate slogans for freedom by the students. The slogans broke the calm of the varsity with its resonance even in the National media.
Geelani’s stopover inside the campus for some hours seems to have been a trigger as it was followed by a chain of visits by pro-India politicians and policy makers in the coming years. Convocation functions with invitations to VVIP guests became norm.
The podium of convocation complex of the university was specially used to launch government of India sponsored projects like Himayat. It was in 2011 when an ‘apolitical’ visit of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi created furor amid separatist camp. Congress denied Geelani’s claim that Gandhi had come to introduce mainstream politics in the varsity.
But within days, after the visit of Rahul Gandhi, congress backed National Students Union of India started a membership drive despite an official ban on student politics. No comment came from congress after the membership drive.
To sound politically correct, the administration of the University had facilitated the launch of a student body against KUSU, comprising of class representatives of various departments. But the very officials fumbled when pro-India politicians intruded into the varsity.
Among the class representative body, KU authorities arranged for a Delhi tour for some 15 students where they met the congress Union Human Resources Development Minister, Minister of State for home and Rural development Minister, obviously creating furor among student community.
Amid denials by the University officials, NSUI publicly claimed that it received maximum enrollments for its membership from Kashmir particularly ‘250 students from Kashmir University alone’.
‘Not separatist’
The office of KUSU, banned now, was demolished by the varsity authorities following protests in the university over various human rights issues. The members of the Union have been inactive and elusive ever since the ban except issuing statements anonymously.
A former student of the university, who says he has been part of protests much before any student union existed, justifies demands for allowing student politics, but “clarifies” that never meant the intrusion of pro-freedom or pro-India banners.
We just wanted our academic issues resolved and a platform to raise our voice peacefully inside the campus against the issues confronting our society, but the university officials took it all wrong, he says.
“Ideological divide has always been there. Amity and tolerance prevails when everyone is given equal chance to express and at the same time asked to respect other’s expression. But when University officials become a party to ban one ideology and promote the other, the silent majority of students become its victims.
They either have to be collaborators or rebels, not independent,” he adds.
