Ideologically driven student conference debates Left radicalism and political action

By Harsh Thakor*

The Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF) held its 6th State Conference on November 24, 2025, at Vivekananda Hall in Jadavpur University. During the event, Kolkata was symbolically designated as Koteshwar Rao Nagar, Jadavpur University as Basavaraju Auditorium, and Vivekananda Hall as Hidma Stage.

The programme began with two minutes of silence in memory of individuals described by the organisers as martyrs of the New Democratic Revolution of India. Cultural performances by the RSF team Lal Lanthan followed, along with the reading of messages from national and international fraternal organisations.

Speeches were delivered by representatives and participants including Sushil Thakur (Sangrami Shramik Manch), Sukumar Kayal (Sangrami Krishak Manch), Debjit Bhattacharya (Bibadi Patrika), Siddheshwar Biswas and Srijan Dutta (Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners), and Abhijit (Bikolpo Dumdum magazine). Bipasha Sarkar performed mass songs on behalf of Manabi magazine. Speakers addressed themes related to women’s rights and political prisoners. Activists including Ravi Narla and Prashant Rahi were present and addressed the gathering.

In the second session, the draft Political and Organizational Report covering the period from 2019 to 2025 was presented, followed by a discussion among members on political issues. A new Executive Committee was elected, with Tathagata elected as General Secretary and Arghyajit as Spokesperson. The conference concluded with participants singing The Internationale and cultural performances by Lal Lanthan.

RSF identifies itself with Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and states that it follows the legacy of the Andhra Pradesh Radical Students Union. The organisation has held campaigns on issues such as state operations in Dandakaranya, civil liberties, Dalit and minority rights, and opposition to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. It has also conducted what it described as “Go to Village” campaigns in rural regions in 2023 and has organised programmes commemorating figures such as Charu Mazumdar, Kanhai Chatterjee, Kishenji, Bhagat Singh, Basava Raju and Hidma. RSF has organised campaigns critiquing Hindutva ideology and spoken against the suppression of dissent in Kashmir. It has publicly opposed the surrender of certain former Maoist leaders and supported the CPI (Maoist) position on those events.

The group requires adherence to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as part of its organisational orientation, which some critics argue limits broader participation and may reflect earlier periods when student platforms became closely tied to Maoist political agendas. Critics also point to a lack of internal critique of the banned CPI (Maoist), including issues related to mass work and armed strategy, and note the absence of engagement with alternative left perspectives such as those of T. Nagi Reddy and D.V. Rao.

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*Freelance journalist

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