JUST A FEW WEEKS BEFORE the celebrations of India’s 80th independence day commenced on August 15 this year, the youth protest at Jantar Mantar which demanded the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET exam paper leaks spontaneously secured country wide support in spite of brutal lathi charge, firing of tear gas shells and even pellet guns by police. It is of extraordinary significance that for the first time in India's history, a massive youth movement was launched demanding quality education, integrity of the examination process and accountability of the powers that be for their failure in conducting examinations fairly. The momentous movement eventually registered remarkable success when Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. These extraordinary developments anchored in the youth's duty of resistance, formed the backdrop against which the idea of Swaraj conjured up by leaders of the freedom struggle gets reflected in this Special Issue of The Leaflet.
Eight articles authored by eminent personalities for this Special Issue capture the idea of Swaraj in the context of the youth's role in defending it through their arduous quest for quality education, integrity of the examination system and a constructive protest culture rooted in the vision and practical action of Gandhi and Ambedkar.
Neha Bora, a Ph.D. student at JNU who sat on fast for twenty-three days at Jantar Mantar and emerged as a shining example of a brilliant communicator with exceptional clarity of thinking argues in her article that “Our struggle isn’t just about education, but against the larger pro-corporate and communal political system being put in place by dismantling everything that our freedom fighters fought for.” “The dismantling and crisis of the education system,” she asserted, “is one expression of this larger structure.”
Harish Khare, a highly acclaimed senior journalist and persuasive author, makes the crucial point that although the agitation was called off with Pradhan’s resignation, the momentum of the movement endured and, in his words, “A right to resistance has been reclaimed.”
Professor Ajay Gudavarthy boldly states in his article, “These protests can only be seen as the beginning of a new era of Indian democracy.” “Those of us worried that we had lost our way” he remarks with confidence, “can now be assured that in fact a new pathway is being laid.”
Professor Apoorvanand with his sensitive understanding of the movement at Jantar Mantar emphatically argues that “It has exposed the hollowness of the communal, majoritarian authoritarianism (of Modi regime) so completely that every attempt it now makes to appear serious and formidable looks increasingly pathetic.”
Professor Swarnamayee Tripathy explores in her article how the Constituent Assembly members never foresaw ‘paper leaks’ as a crisis in independent India’s education future, yet they expressed an acute anxiety that the self-Government established in independent India would be imperilled if recruitments of civil servants and other professionals were vitiated by compromising the integrity of the examination process.
Insiyah Vahanvaty in her insightful piece, saw a celebration of fraternity in the protest at Jantar Mantar and observed “This too is politics.”
Anil Kumar Bahariya forcefully articulates in his article that the youth protest securing Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation was repeatedly questioned by the BJP-RSS; thus, Gandhi’s and Ambedkar’s vision constitutes a firm response to the Sangh’s ideological fabrications justifying State repression against protestors.
Pratik Patnaik, in a piece that reaches back to the midnight of 14 August 1947, reads Nehru’s “tryst with destiny” as a promise still owed rather than a debt already settled. It reminds readers that Nehru himself conceded the pledge would be redeemed “not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.” Turning to Gandhi’s talisman—the instruction to recall the face of the poorest and weakest person and ask whether a given step will restore control over their own life and destiny—Patnaik insists that “a tryst has two parties, and we have never once been careful about naming the second.”
As we celebrate our country’s independence on August 15, the invaluable insights in this Special Issue explore how the youth protests, by removing fear for holding the Government to account and debunking the politics of polarisation based on Hindu-Muslim binaries, generate the much-needed hope to save the Constitution and the idea of India.
I hope our readers will enjoy reading our Special Issue and share their thoughts on editorial@theleaflet.in.
