Students and Politics

A student may be a child or an adult, who pursues studies in an institution. Generally, he has to appear in one or the other examination, but that may not always be the case. The main point is that a students primary aim is or should Pursuit of studies. If that is admitted, then it means as a corollary, that any other aim of the student, even the pursuit of a hobby or participation in sports, must be considered secondary to the pursuit of studies. As stated above, when even the pursuit of a hobby or participation in sports is for a student a secondary activity, politics can certainly not be regarded as an important activity for a student. There is a common saying that politics is a dirty game. It is generally believed that the game of politics is mostly pursued by people with crooked minds. This be as it may, we cannot ignore the fact that at least before Independence politics in India was pursued by persons with highly enlightened minds such as Lala Lajpat Rai, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Maulana Azad, Sarder Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sarojni Naidu, etc. While talking of politics as a profession in western countries, Jawaharlal says at one place that there only people with most brilliant and enlightened minds follow this profession. In India, the general impression of politicians is that they are crooked people and they want to grind their own axe by hook or by crook. It is not surprising that these crooked politicians should target the innocent gullible students in schools and colleges to further their own selfish motives. The students are immature. They do not know the pros and cons of politics which is a highly crooked, complex game and is full of booby-traps. It is generally seen that the students who get trapped in the meshes of politics during their student life, often fail in life and repent bitterly for this mistake. It is a different matter that during the Independence movement, the students had to assert themselves effectively along with great political personages in the interest of the country.
Much can be said in support of and against the students participating in politics. Politics is a part of ones life, especially in a democratic country like ours. Though the idea of students taking part in politics might have been an anathema until a few years ago, there are now many who feel that students should take an active part in politics if the nation is to be provided with effective leaders in the years to come. By students, we mean the college students should be kept away from politics as they are not mature enough to understand party politics. The opinion is divided on the desirability of students taking part in politics. Those who oppose such a move argue that students should devote their time to studies and excel in academic activities. They feel that political

parties will exploit the students and ruin the academic atmosphere. But are the students at the college level insulated from politics today? The fact is they are not. May frontal organizations of leading political parties like Congress, BJP and the Communists operate in the university campuses. As the students studying in the campuses are members of these student organizations representing different political parties, it can be said that the students are taking part in politics though not in large numbers. The desirability of the students taking part in politics is, of course, open to debate. If democracy is to have the intended effect on our society, every section of the society should take an active part in it. The student that is college students are not exception. If a student has a flair for politics, there is nothing wrong in that student taking part in politics along with his studies. If the students keep away from politics, the illiterates will take over the role of leadership as has been happening for some decades now. Should we settle for leaders who are illiterate by keeping the students away from politics? Have we forgotten the pre-independence days when several students participated in the freedom movement? By supporting the students participation in politics we will be directing their energies in the right direction. Politics is no more the last resort of scoundrels. Many professors, bureaucrats and other intellectuals are joining the political parties of their choice. This is a good sign as politics had been dominated by near illiterates for several years. With even intellectuals choosing politics as a carrier, it makes so sense if the college students are kept away from this field. If students, who are well educated, take to politics one can hope that the rot that has set into our political system will be done away with in a few years. If Indias democracy is to be strengthened, we need more educated leaders to give shape to the dreams that were cherished by the freedom fighters. And for this to happen, students should take part in politics.

Strictly speaking, there is hardly any need or justification for students to indulge in any political activity. Their sole aim should be to educate themselves. Through education, they can acquire knowledge, develop their personality and build their character. They can also equip themselves with some profession in life in order to earn their livelihood. Leading educationists are of the view that the students should have nothing to do with the rough and tumble of politics. Politics is a dirty game. It has neither any rule nor any code of conduct. We find that in the sphere of politics, people easily shift their loyalties, change alliances, split parties, pay lip service, stoop to dishonesty and underhand means to win elections and capture power. Students are in a very tender and highly impressionable age. It is an age when one should learn high moral ideals and principles. It is a time to improve ones intellectual faculties and skills. If students participate in politics at a young age, they will feel demoralised because politicians will ditch them after their political ends are served. Besides attending classes, a student has to study at home for at least 3 to 4 hours a day. This hardly leaves him with any spare time for political work. If a student takes time off for politics, it

will leave him with less time for his studies. So, a student can pursue politics only at the cost of his studies. In reality, studies should be the prime concern of every student. He should not dabble in politics. Politics demands time and energy which the students cannot afford. If a student has aptitude for politics, he should wait till his studies are over. So long as he is a student, he should not join any political party or participate in any political rally, agitation or demonstration. Students should be bewaring of political parties. These parties exploit the students for their own selfish ends. They sow the seeds of discontent and unrest among the students. They encourage indiscipline among the students. They also encourage students to resort to strikes. Exploitation of students for political purposes is deplorable. In fact, student leaders also bank upon politicians for political support for their demands: The result is that the politicians inject political ideologies among the students. Nowadays, all the major political parties have set up their student wings in educational institutions to involve students in political activities to achieve their selfish ends. When a political party gives out a call for an agitation or demonstration, it invariably presses into service the students who owe allegiance to their party. This adversely affects the academic careers of thousands of students. Students do not derive any material benefit from such agitations. But this does not mean that students should not study politics. They should study this subject. They should read newspapers and magazines regularly to keep themselves abreast of the political trends and developments not only in India but also abroad. They should hold debates on the burning economic, political and social problems facing the country like population explosion, terrorism, regionalism, communalism, corruption, smuggling, black money, tax evasion, etc. However, students should avoid active politics. They should not become workers of any political party. In fact, students should receive some sort of training in democratic and political processes. Such training is generally provided by students unions. Students should take keen interest in their unions and air their grievances through them. Students should, however, ensure that patrons and office bearers of these unions are chosen from among the students and not from outside. In any case, no politician should be made its office-bearer. Students are as much a part of the countrys ethos, its hopes and aspirations, as any other section of the people. When people fight for the independence of their country, students cannot be expected to lag behind. In India, this is exactly what happened. Students in India took an

active part in the freedom movement of our country under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lai Nehru. Now that our country is free from the clutches of British imperialism, students should concentrate on their education. But at the same time they must have knowledge and awareness of the affairs of the country. They should keenly watch the activities of the politicians who work for self-interest. As students form the educated part of the society, they should help other members of the society to understand politics so that the politicians are compelled to work for the country and not for themselves.