Skip to main content

Dharna in Vadodara against proposed law aimed at snatching away varsity autonomy

An AISEC Gujarat note on dharna against Common University Act in Vadodara:
***
The All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) along with Teachers' Union of all the universities organised an impactful dharna against Common University Act in Vadodara opposite to MS University jointly by AISEC, Abhivyakti ni Azadi, Baroda University Teachers' Association (BUTA), Baroda University Staff Association (BUSA) as well as Students against CUB. Eminent personalities like I. I. Pandya, Dr. Bharat Mehta, Dhiru Mistry, Amee Ravat, Ajay Dave, Narendra Ravat and others participated in Dharna. Prof. Hemantkumar Shah and Dr. Kanu Khadadiya, Joint Secretary, Gujarat Chapter, AISEC, specially came to participate from Ahmedabad.
Earlier, an impactful dharna against the Common University Act was organised in Ahmedabad.
Also H. D. Patel, President, Sardar Patel University Area Teachers' Association (SPUATA) as well as the former secretary, M. G. Mansuri also came from Vallabh Vidyanagar in solidarity with the Dharna. A signature campaign has been started both online and offline on this issue. Further it was decided to organise a state level Citizen's Convention in Ahmedabad on 20 September.
It is worth mentioning that Common University Act is aimed to snatch whatever autonomy is left with the universities. The democratic atmosphere of the university campuses will be destroyed. Senate, Syndicate and Students' Union elections will be eradicated. The teachers will be turned into government employees. The universities will come under total control of the government.
So there will be an atmosphere of fear in the university. And political interference will also increase. The chief interest of the government behind bringing this Act is to sell the property and land of universities.
It is also worth mentioning that two attempts were done to bring about this Act in 2004 - 05. But both the times they were foiled due to strong people's movement. At that time, eminent citizens like Prof. Devvrat N. Pathak, Prof. Dinesh Shukla, Prakash N. Shah, Mahesh Dave, Kirit Bhatt, I. I. Pandya, Nalin Anadkat, Dr. Bharat Mehta and others actively built up the movement under the leadership of AISEC. This is the third attempt. And even when most of these members are not there, yet the movement is gaining momentum.

Comments

TRENDING

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman*  Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas*  Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah   I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative   A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Farewell to Robin Smith, England’s Lionhearted Warrior Against Pace

By Harsh Thakor*  Robin Smith, who has died at the age of 62, was among the most adept and convincing players of fast bowling during an era when English cricket was in decline and pace bowling was at its most lethal. Unwavering against the tormenting West Indies pace attack or the relentless Australians, Smith epitomised courage and stroke-making prowess. His trademark shot, an immensely powerful square cut, made him a scourge of opponents. Wearing a blue England helmet without a visor or grille, he relished pulling, hooking and cutting the quicks. 

Muslim women’s rights advocates demand criminalisation of polygamy: Petition launched

By A Representative   An online petition seeking a legal ban on polygamy has been floated by Javed Anand, co-editor of Sabrang and National Convener of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), inviting endorsements from citizens, organisations and activists. The petition, titled “Indian Muslims & Secular Progressive Citizens Demand a Legal Ban on Polygamy,” urges the Central and State governments, Parliament and political parties to abolish polygamy through statutory reform, backed by extensive data from the 2025 national study conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...