The Country likes to Know:
Who Constitute the State?

Bhaskar Majumder

I feel agonized – I feel shattered. One of the much-ahead-of-others social scientist in a premier social science research institute talked about the students protesting against the CAB-converted CAA, with full sympathy for the students for he had also been one of the students some years back, that state cannot be fought against. The point was, one student can shoot one round while the state can shoot unnumbered rounds. My question was, are the students outside State?

Yes, the reference point is CAB-converted CAA. It may be that most of the students in the affected Universities did not peruse or did not understand the intricacies of the Act.  As a teacher for more than past four decades in different Universities and Institutes in India I find no reason why students should remain disempowered from protesting. By the way, I faced it in Calcutta University and I solved it – it was inside my lecture hour that I was delivering as a Guest teacher without knowing it was a strike day called by the-then politically dominant wing of the students, as I understood from their slogans.

How come police come in between? Universities are to be administered by the teachers and the support staff, as I understand. In my study days in St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta and the Department of Economics in Calcutta University I did not find presence of any police. Those were politically sensitive days. Then how come now during political stability the police make their omnipresence uncalled for? Yes, I mean Jamia Milia University where the Vice Chancellor reported to the media that police was not invited to maintain administration, that too by using danda (baton) and other convenient methods – convenient from the viewpoint of police and not from the viewpoint of the VC. I personally respect the VC for her bold stand so far.

No, I say to the police in descending order, ‘’You are not authorized to kill (psychologically) the future citizens of my motherland – there might be students like me who had never been beaten at home by parents and other guardians or in educational institutions’’. Imagine a scenario where such students get beaten, that too by the 10th standard pass out police. The students are at post-graduation level and above. Only anarchy can explain baton-ruled administration of the temples of education.

Why abruptly Jamia Milia? It was JNU – acceptable for the students learnt left ideology (some of them are Ministers in the Government of India – no personal aspersion, pl.). It was temporarily Hyderabad Central University – understood for it had caste-related issues. Why not BHU? I have nothing against the global standard of BHU – but then fraternity requires that all the children are treated equally by the state represented for the time being by the police. I am not pro or anti CAB-converted CAA. Also I am not authorized to make comment on it for it is in the right court – the Apex Court of India. My simple concern is with the children willing to get education in the formal institutions. It may be that most of the police did not enter the institutions of advanced learning for education. So they may be prone to fulfil their desire by using baton on the students who are ahead of them – ahead by the indicator of qualifications. But then I get surprised for the children of the police may also face baton in these universities. Is using baton a rule? Is it fulfilling non-satiety? Or, sadism?

Let me come back to the core question – composition of the state. Since the time state came into being - it was 1648 and not 1947 – people/nation who formed the state also understood the relevance of the state and the possibility of its disproportionate power. If this power is understood by logic, it is understood. But as I see now if it is understood by baton, then I am afraid the very purpose of the state as an agreement fails. I believe the political determinants have gone through the concept of Liberty penned by John Stuart Mill where he explained clearly the identity of the individual also vis-a-vis the strong state. It was not examining the inequality of power between the individual and the state. Following the logic similar to this, students are not to be juxtaposed vis-a-vis the state.

I shall not go to examine misconceptions whatever those are for there may be infinite such misconceptions. Rather let me focus on conceptions that may seem wise in my view. I apply here my home theory – the theory is, if and when the children commit error, it will be the responsibility of their parents or guardians. There is perfect consent on this at home. Now India is my home. If my children in JNU or Jamia do any wrong, the guardians will be responsible. In case of Jamia, the honourable VC has come forward to take the responsibility; about JNU I don’t have any idea.

Students have no religion as teachers do not have. BHinduU (BHU) has Muslim students as AMuslimU (AMU) has Hindu teachers. Education or knowledge has no religion division. No student ever asked me anywhere in India and abroad which religion I belonged to. One may recollect the end of novel Gora penned by Rabindranath Tagore.

Let me repeat – branding students by personal choice as Maoists or Jihadis or activists or urban Naxals may not help. Love may. In case love is batonized, what remains? Students are in state institutions – they are not in any secret service agency. Where is the fear? I started as a Lecturer before I attained age 22 and interacted with students in age from 18 to 40 and beyond in a number of states. I never faced any problem – and I know some of them are perusing this note. But this is not for self-glorification. This is to recapitulate the past imperfect for future indefinite tense.

I have no doubt that state is the super institution that can do and undo things. Police is only a tiny component of execution of policies – police is my brother as the students are my children. Both constitute members of the same family. It does not help to say some students are anti-national and some police are perfect patriots. What I have been re-iterating; nothing can be enforced in a civilization as India is. Also what sanity is expected from people post-50 cannot for sure be expected from people pre-25 with exceptions.

This police action hopefully was delinked from polity. The police however rejected the accusation of using disproportionate force against the agitating students of Jamia. What is ‘disproportionate’ – firing? I understand it was not a standoff between police and students – it was a protest against CAB-converted CAA. What was wrong in that unless Jamia teachers opined otherwise. I believe the teachers in Jamia are the best judges so far as protests by students of Jamia were concerned. But now it has taken a national character. Many students had no idea about Jamia – now they have come to know – for wrong reasons.

We, the people of India, are not anti-state. Is the state anti-education? I do not buy the idea. It may be that the state of a nature likes to see a particular type of education or that a particular type of students. If that is clear, I shall feel relieved. I hope that will be clear soon state willing.          

Bhaskar Majumder, Professor of Economics, G. B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad - 211019

Back to Home Page

Dec 17, 2019