Campuses should be liberated from the clutches of communal forces'

Mangalore, February 27: The wind of revolution currently blowing in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa should also reach this part of the world to bring a change in the Indian social, political and economic system, said Prof P Koya, Chief Editor of 'Thejas' a Kerala based Malayalam daily.

He was addressing thousands of students who converged at Nehru Maidan on Sunday evening as part of the first ever Karnataka state conference of Campus Front of India. The conference was held under the promulgation of 'Students for Social Change'.

Koya said the people of Egypt have set an example for the entire world by their undaunted and successful struggle against corruption and dictatorship, which culminated in the overthrowing of one of the cruelest dictators of the contemporary world.

Being a suppressed section, the middle class people of this community including students should be inspired by those hundreds of thousands of Egyptian people, who had converged at Tahrir Square in Cairo for three weeks with a determination to change the fate of their country, he said, adding that “it is possible for us too to achieve our goal if we struggle together for the cause of social change.”

A Mohammed Yusuf, President of Campus Front of India, stated that the process of social change must be initiated from campuses. “Let us resolve to bring a change in our system by eradicating communalism and fascism from this country and our struggle against these evil powers should begin from campuses,” he said.

Yusuf said that due to the inactiveness of good people, fascist groups have doubled their strength. “Sadly, Sangh Parivar and its student organisation ABVP, are a major barrier for social change in the nation”, he said adding that campuses in India should be liberated from the clutches of 'communal and fascist forces'.

Shivsunder, writer and activist, called upon the students to give more emphasis to social activities and become catalysts of social change.

It is unfortunate that students are losing enthusiasm in activities and are engaged only in studies because of the competition in the job market, he pointed out.

The nation becomes independent only when equal powers are given to the poor and farmers, he said. “The gap between the poor and the rich has been increasing considerably after independence. The ratio of wealth of the poor and the rich was 1:50 in the pre-Indpendence period and now, it has been changed to 1:3,000 at present,” he added.

No initiatives are being taken even as the number of atrocities against women, Dalits and minorities are increasing, he said.

Abdul Salam Puthige, Editor in Chief of Vartha Bharati Kannada daily, said all sorts and colours of communalism pose equal threat to the society.

Calling upon the students to join hands to ward off the evil of communalism from the society, Puthige said, those students who engage in activities with an objective of bringing reformation in the society along with their studies, are commendable.

Pattabhirama Somayaji, activist, KM Shareef, General Secretary, PFI, Anis Ahmed, Chairman, National Advisory Council, CFI and Majeed Kodlipet, President, SDPI, Karnataka were among those present.