Student movements across countries have a vital role in defining the national politics of a country. If we take the example of our very own country, student movements have played a very vital role in defining national politics. Gone are the times when the student community could together hand in hand rise against one common enemy threatening the essence of our great country. Gone are the times when student leaders united and fought against emergency with one common goal in mind.
The role of women student leaders has increased with time, but is under serious threat as some student leaders with patriarchal mindsets have diluted the entire essence of their role in student activism. Some male student leaders think of women to be an object of desire and nothing else.
NSUI president caught Dancing naked: Suraj Thakur, the then NSUI Mumbai state President was caught dancing naked in a party where juniors were being ragged. Later the party suspended him. Student leaders like him are nothing but a source of disgust to the very fabric of student movements across the nation. This not only brought a bad name to him personally but also to his parent party the Congress.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi Sex Video: The entire nation came to a standstill when the video of senior Congress leader and a veteran politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi was leaked in the year 2012. He was caught having a conversation with a women and later having sex inside his chamber in the court. This not only diluted his personal image but was also a blot on our judiciary as he used the pious “court chamber” to fulfil his sexual desires.
Sex Scandal and Murder: A Cabinet Minister and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress in Rajasthan was not only charged with abduction of Bhanwari Devi, but was also for the rape and murder of the same woman. In the year 2011, the cabinet minister was arrested by the Rajasthan Police and brought under trial for the same.
Gopal Kanda and the Suicide: A Minister in Haryana Congress government was arrested when an air hostess Geetika Sharma accused him of sexual harassment in her suicide note. Gopal Kanda was not only an influential politician but a big businessman. He was later released on bail after committing such a grave act. Mr Kanda was charged of abetting suicide, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other offences under the IT Act for hacking computers and sending offensive or false messages.
Bablulal Naagar, Wife’s Allegation and Sex Scandal: The former Minister in the Rajasthan Congress Government was charged of ill treatment and an extra marital affair by his own wife in the year 2002 and 2003. Later the same gentleman was charged by a lady of exploiting her sexually in return for a government Job.
Narayan Dutt Tiwari Sex Scandal: The biggest name among them all, a veteran congress leader was seen in bed with 3 women in his official residence, the Governors House. Later, ND Tewari had to resign as the Governor. Tewari’s life was full of allegations, and now his son Rohit has also established ND Tewari to be his biological father.
The latest allegation on the National president of the NSUI has left every student activist thinking about the situation within the Congress and its institutions. The way the latest case was reported in the media was a big threat to the oldest party of the country. The National President was charged for not only harassing the complainant but also forcing her younger sister to come to his hotel room. The complainant also mentioned that many of the young women leaders have gone through the same but fear has left them with no choice but to remain silent. In her email which got leaked, she charges Fairoz of torturing her to compromise with him. The complainant also mentioned that she emailed the senior leadership complaining about him, but received no response.
The situation is grave if the president of NSUI is asking for sexual compromises for political positions. The NSUI claims to be the biggest democratic student organization. But still, no committee has been formed which can look into these matters. Why is that so? Does the national President of the Congress Party feel he can run the party by not addressing problems of grave importance? The National President has not spoken anything on this matter as of now. Mr Fairoz Khan who is famous for doing press conferences has not come out in the open and faced the media until now. There are some Whastapp chats which clearly tell us that the NSUI national president use to force girls to come and see him at his residence at odd hours. Is this the benchmark he wants to set for his cadres? Some sources inside NSUI tell us that the NSUI president is behaving weirdly by leaving Whatsapp groups of the party. Why this behavior if he is upright ?
How I see this particular situation is that the oldest party has lost all its principles and has no professionalism left. Its high time for the men in the party to stop perceiving women as just objects of desire and sex.