AISA’s Uttarakhand state committee successfully held its fifth state-level conference on 21-22nd December in Dehradun. 50 representatives from 6 units across the state participated in the conference. The hall where the conference was held was named after former JNU Students’ Union President Comrade Chandrashekhar, who was shot dead on 31st March 1997 at the behest of former RJD MP Shahabuddin. Also, during the conference, the town was named after Comrade Nagendra Saklani who was martyred on 11th January 1948 in Kirtinagar fighting against monarchy in the Tehri region.
Addressing the inaugural …

Jamia Administration Cancels Admission of 300 Students!
AISA Organizes Massive Protests Against Draconian JMI Administration!!

The anti-student administration of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has cancelled the admission of as many as 300 students, citing the spurious excuse of ‘shortage of attendance’. It is to be noted that these 300 students were given absolutely no notice, no notice, by the JMI administration before this drastic step was taken. The administration decided to throw out these students and jeopardize their careers, even though there are several irregularities in the manner in which …

On 9th August, 1990, in the Union Hall of Allahabad University, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) was born. AISA emerged in a time of crises: the decade of the ‘90s saw both the beginnings of the neoliberal assault on people’s rights and livelihoods as well as the prominent rise of communal, chauvinist and casteist forces. In the face of these assaults, AISA established itself as a revolutionary student front that has taken forward the struggle for student rights and also allied itself with democratic movements across India and the …

The town of Gidderbaha falls in the Mukhtsar district of Punjab. It is the home turf of the Badals, the political family which currently rules the state. Manpreet Badal, the MLA from this constituency, is also the current finance minister of Punjab. A few years ago, the Badal family illegally acquired the building of the only government college in Gidderbaha. This building was allotted to the Badal’s own private school, and the college was shifted 4-5 kms away from the town. For some years now, the town had had only …

AMU under its present VC is being run in a style that will put even any medieval monarchy to shame. A prestigious Central University with a glorious past is being turned into a concentration camp for the students and faculty alike, with not-too-hidden blessings of the UPA govt at the centre. Continuing with his authoritarian and draconian crackdowns on the students, the AMU VC has suspended one more student, Mohd. Adil Hossain, a student of M.A. (Previous) Mass Communication on 3 June, 2010. The official notice served to …

A First ever referendum in JNU
On Tuesday, 20th April, as many as 2741 students of JNU cast their votes in a historic, first-of-a-kind referendum. The question posed before the student community was: Should the provisions of the JNU Act be amended so as to allow the VC to get a second term? The answer was a resounding ‘NO’, with 2563 students voting against a second term for the VC and a small minority of 165 voting in favour of extending his term.
Despite the fact that this was a busy period …

A series of extremely disturbing incidents over the past few months have revealed how the Aligarh Muslim University has been turned into a virtual police state.
Draconian Crackdown on Protesting Students
A couple of months back, some students of AMU started protesting against the rampant corruption and misappropriation of funds by the hostel administration in AMU. Not only had the quality of food deteriorated; the mess charges had also steeply increased by Rs 250 per month per student.  The students of one hostel (VM Hall) appealed to the AMU administration for permission …

The Declaration of Emergency in JNU overturned by Students’ Struggle to Uphold Freedom of Expression on Campus
Behind the ‘democratic’ and ‘liberal’ mask of the UPA regime is its true face — its authoritarian colors which stand in favour of nothing but corporate interests. In universities and academic institutions the UPA seeks professions of loyalty rather academic quality. They speak of academic ‘excellence’ and ‘merit’; they speak of ‘world class’ universities. But what they actually want is that universities should become enclaves for the wealthy or else institutes preparing semi-skilled workers …

AISA expresses condolences over the shocking and tragic death of Dr Srinivas Ramachandra Siras, Reader and Chair of Modern Indian Languages at Aligarh Muslim University. According to reports, Dr. Siras’ body was found “in mysterious circumstances” with bleeding from the mouth in his home in Aligarh.
Dr Siras, as is known, had recently fought against his unlawful and unethical suspension from AMU on the grounds of “gross indecency”. After decades of teaching, he was suspended merely a few months before his retirement on the basis of videotapes filmed by intruders into …

On 8th March, Kapil Sibal, Minister for Human Resources Development, visited Benares Hindu University as the Chief Guest of the ‘Deeksha Samaroh’ function. While the university officials and administration were engaged in praising Sibal and seeking favours, AISA activists raised their protest against his policies which are part of the neo-liberal agenda for education.
While raising their demands against the Right to Education bill in its present form and demanding the restitution of campus democracy in BHU, thirty AISA activists were detained by the police. In a campus like BHU, the …