Image Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: After hundreds of teachers from across the country participated in an ‘Aakrosh Rally’ organised by the Joint Forum for Academic and Social Justice (JFASJ) on January 31 to protest against the imposition of department/ subject-wise roster in place of college/ university-wise roster in educational institutions, JFASJ held a Review Meeting on February 2, 2019. It was decided that a continuous protest will be held until the demand to restore 200 Point Roster is fulfilled.
 
A course of action was suggested in the meeting which ranged from protests in front of the houses of BJP and its allies Ministers and MPs, extend support to DUTA’s call for a University strike on February 5, to make a call for University and College Bandh to ensure a massive nationwide protest and more.
 
They also decided to continuously mention and tag political leaders on different social media platforms asking them to raise a demand for a law to re-implement 200 Point Roster. They would also ask UGC whether they have given the permission to the Universities to release their new advertisements following the department-wise Roster System. “If UGC has not given the permission, how can the Universities publish their advertisement?” they asked.
 
“A nation-wide coordination should be established to strongly fight against Department-wise Roster System. The committee decided to extend its support to all the organisations who are raising the issue of Department-wise Roster. We extend our support to the Young India Adhikar March on February 7. We extend our support to AISF March on February 18. A continuous plan of action would be followed till February 13 when the last session of this government ends, to mobilize more people across the country and build a political pressure on the government to pass a law to re-implement 200 Point Roster,” they said in a statement.
 
According to the plan of action decided in the meeting, they will burn the effigy of the University Circular of March 2018, MHRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar and UGC Chairperson in all the Universities across the country on Feb 4.
 
On Feb 5, public talks will be organised to create awareness regarding the Roster issue in various universities located outside Delhi. On Feb 6, public talks to discuss the Status of SC. On Feb 7, they will extend their support to Young India Adhikar March from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament. On Feb 8,9 and 10, people will be mobilised for the Feb 11 University and College Bandh besides the protest march from UGC to MHRD in Delhi, against the department-wise Roster.
 
“This can be done by campaigning and holding seminars and talks on the status of SC, ST, OBCs in higher education institutions, across the country by student community in their respective universities & colleges. People from outside Delhi are requested to join the March on Feb 11 in Delhi in large numbers and who cannot join it in Delhi are requested to shut down their respective universities and colleges. Like Minded People and Organizations are requested to publish this action plan on their respective letter-heads and to circulate it,” they said in a statement.
 
A review meeting will be held on Feb 12 and Feb 13.
 

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India needs to protest the silent murder of the affirmative action programme by the most casteist government of India. Sadly, the courts too have let down to all of us. We always believed that there may be some people who rise above their narrow partisan caste interest but all those things are a matter of the past.
 
The time has come to demand proportionality in all sectors. That is the only answer to all the complexities in India. It is equally important to demand an all India judicial service on the lines of civil service with quota fixed for it. All the higher courts must reflect India’s caste, religious and ethnic diversity. These institutions cannot be allowed to judge people in the name of merit.
 
While political parties have failed to raise this issue because none want to ‘offend’ others. We hope the parties swearing over social justice will stand up and speak against this theft of Dalit OBC Adivasi community share. It is an open theft and shameless, to say the least.
 
The department-wise roster system in universities is nothing but blatant misuse of power by the Brahmanical hegemonists to steal the constitutional provisions meant for the historically denied Bahujan communities. It violates all the principles of social and constitutional justice.
 
Though political parties have shown their incompetence and absolutely casteist character, it also reflects the huge gap of intellectual leadership in India. We do not have statesmen who speak to their communities rising above the partisan interest. We always believe that when bureaucrats, academia and all other who take oath in the name of the constitution, they will adhere by it but unfortunately most of them swear by their own caste and religions and follow those biases.
 
This crisis may not be created due to political incompetence as popularly believed. It’s much bigger because politicians rarely see beyond their nose and immediate interest hence this is a rocket-speed supersonic action by the threatened Savarna elite which includes Savarna bureaucrats and Savarna academia. They have completed exposed them but with the Savarna media and Savarna judiciary, they have everything to feel secure. One helps them in building narratives and the other stamps their job stealing.
 
What is going to happen? The Savarna academia and Savarna bureaucracy will keep the hot seats for their relatives. Not even Savarna poor will get into these institutions but only the Brahmanical elite. Once the seats are gone everywhere, some ‘good’ judge or ‘good government’ will again play the ‘social justice’ card but by that time, most of the things will be taken away. They know it well, but then this was a deliberate effort by a thoroughly desperate and shameless elite.
 
This is open loot and a clear violation of the law of the land and constitutional spirit. Sooner this country realises it, the better for all of us. The constitution of India as defined and designed by its constitutional forefathers needs fair implementation and one thing we must fight for is once you take up a government job, you must adhere to constitutional principles leaving your prejudices based on caste, religion, language and regions aside.
 
India’s socio-cultural diversity must reflect in all its public positions. It will make the country better. The one community one religion nations always turned to fascism and oppressive theocracies. We must not think of India as a one community nation ever because that means religious thugs will dominate and kill the spirit of democracy. Attempts are being made to convert India into a Brahmanical theocracy which must be opposed tooth and nail.
 
The very structure of democracy is in crisis and all Indians must support it.
 
Rights of the Dalits, marginalised and others can’t be different except in the form of affirmative actions and human rights. We stand together with our friends fighting for their constitutional and human rights provisions which have been shamelessly taken away from them in the name of ‘merit’ and other ‘technicalities’.
 

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