Mumbai: For decades, student politics in India has played a crucial role in shaping the country’s political landscape. It began in the second half of the 19th century and it existed even before independence was a huge part of the freedom movement.
However, for years and at present, student activism in Maharashtra has been close to nonexistent, compared to universities in other states known to be epicenters of it. Being the financial capital of the country, it has long been a mystery on why it is so.
Has the long-standing ban on student politics in Maharashtra contributed to this perception of students being 'apolitical'?
History of campus politics in Maharashtra & its crackdown
In a state that has given influential leaders like Raj Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis, and Nitin Gadkari— all of whom began their careers as student leaders—there was a time when the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) dominated university politics in the 1970s.
However, the ban on student politics in Maharashtra was triggered by a series of tragic incidents and violence during campus elections in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These events have had a major impact on the political nature in universities across the state.
In the late 1980s, there were incidents of kidnapping and other criminal activities on campuses, leading in the brutal murder of Owen D’Souza in October 1989. As per numerous media reports, it was said that D’Souza’s murder was the result of political rivalry.
During the same time, there were various national protests on the Ramjanmabhoomi and Mandal disputes, which encouraged university activism in Maharashtra.
The last student elections took place in 1993. A year later in 1994, it was completely banned marking the conclusion of the violent, kidnapping, and homicidal college elections which took place in the early 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, the use of posters, leaflets, and banners was also barred.
For the next two decades, student representatives were selected based on their academic records and nominated by college and university authorities. The only permitted elections were internal college polls and student council elections to appoint presidents and secretaries.
It has been one of the major reasons contributing to the lack of political involvement among young students in Mumbai.
25 years later, campus politics made a return
Nearly 25 years after the decision to uphold the ban on college elections, the government gazette published the election regulations on October 26, 2018. Campus politics made a re-entry in the state with the Maharashtra Public Universities Act 2016 coming into effect.
The recent change allowed for student elections to take place in universities across the state. This gave students the opportunity to actively participate in the governance of these higher learning institutions, allowing them to have a say in matters such as fee increases. Additionally, it led to a more active presence of political parties on campus.
Here's what the experts have to say
Speaking to Manan Kamble, a professor at Mumbai University, he said, "Reforms have been made, but students and young people in Maharashtra have been prohibited from engaging in political activism for three complete generations due to this prohibition. As a result, they are unable to understand the importance of political expression even today."
"Students must be provided the opportunity to bring in new leaders from the younger generation, as participation in university elections is a gateway to local, state, and federal politics," said Kamble.
In the last few weeks, as the Mumbai university elections took place, one might argue that Mumbai’s political heart is beating just fine, but awareness of student politics remains a clueless subject for most colleges in Mumbai.
In the recent Mumbai University senate elections, the Yuva Sena won all 10 seats, while ABVP did not win any.
Watch the celebration here:
BREAKING NEWS
This is the good news for @uddhavthackeray
And #MaharashtraPolitics
Shivsena leader Aditya Thakrey celebrates Mumbai University Senate election results with his mother ⚡
Yuva Sena has clean swept the elections with 10/10 seats. ABVP 00/10
MVA will sweep… pic.twitter.com/TqsJEwsJMp— Ayush $ingh (@Ayush_singhAs) September 28, 2024
Thus, the kind of student politics seen in the city (and there is student politics on campuses like Mumbai University , IIT-Bombay, and The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) make no mistake) does not reach the scale witnessed in other cities like Kolkata and Delhi.
As Mumbai’s students continue to be perceived as politically unaware, experts question whether lifting the ban has helped Mumbai’s youth shed the tag.
“The ban has suppressed the curiosity and political awareness in Mumbai, as most students aren’t even aware of the history of Maharashtra’s student politics and why it has not thrived,” says a student leader who wished to remain anonymous. “As a leader we need to brace student’s interest in politics without limiting their rights.”
When asked why other cities have more influence, he said, “Due to the existence of the parliament and other significant political bodies, Delhi has more politically engaged students than Mumbai. The reason the youth are also more inclined in politics has also been because of the close relations between the political system and its educational institutions.”
According to the student, a person’s family and place of school also plays a major role in influencing interest in politics among the youth or anyone, for that matter.
As the debate continues, on whether the ban on student politics led to Mumbai's 'apolitical' reputation? Only time will tell if the city's youth will reclaim their voice in India's student politics landscape.