In another major development in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath government has cleared draft ordinance to curb anti-national activities on the university campuses. The draft “Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Ordinance, 2019” aims to bring the existing 27 universities in the state under a single umbrella law. The ordinance also provides existing universities with a period of one year to adopt all the provisions of the law.
With the new law in effect all the private universities in UP will have to give an undertaking that it will “not be involved in any anti-national activity, allow such activity within its premises or lets its name be used for any such activity. Any such act would be construed as violation of the rules of establishment and the government can take action”. Social harmony, secularism, patriotism and good faith should be the main objectives of the universities, said the Yogi government in a statement.
The Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Ordinance, 2019 also aims at bringing more transparency into admission procedures and the fee structure of universities. The ordinance will also push forward for the universities to ensure a 10% reserved quota for economically weaker sections. Such students will only pay 50% of the fees.
This move by Yogi Adityanath Government comes at a time when anti-national activities in university campuses have become major point of discussion. However it is to note that anti-national activities thriving in certain in University campuses is not a recent phenomenon but has been there for decades. It was the infamous ‘Tukde Tukde’ incident in JNU which brought all these activities to light in 2016, which have not only been permitted but participated in and even promoted for long. In the 2016 JNU Sedition case anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in on the JNU campus during a programme called to protest against the death sentence handed out to Afzal Guru, a convict in the 2001 parliament attacks. The matter is still sub-judice.
However, the roots behind similar anti-national activities run much deeper than the surface, where students are just used as scapegoats. Influence of left leaning academicians in various top universities of the nation are suspected to have planted the seeds for such activities to be mainstreamed. The left ecosystem which was borne out of the perpetual quid pro quo has been systematically driving out opposing viewpoints from the social institutions. Academicians have been the biggest victim of this ‘organized genocide’ so much so that by 1990’s, the presence of opposite views to the left were virtually non-existent in universities. The greatest victim of this charade has been the Indian Education system and young minds seeking education, which have been used as political fodder by anti-national academicians for decades.
Events celebrating convicted terrorists, sloganeering against integrity of India, false history discourses and others constitute just a part of anti-national activities which have been brought to light over the past few years. This move by Yogi Adityanath government will surely be a positive step ahead to protect students from the influence of corrosive ideologies and help the universities create a positive and conducive environment for students, restoring the sanctity of such educational institutions.
