[Via Satish Nainala]
(Pamphlet released by various students organizations in EFL University opposing the EFLU Utsav which was held in the last week of March)
When the entire student community is suffering from the lack of basic amenities like proper drinking water, lack of minimal medical facilities, no guarantee for their scholarships, the student council in collusion with the feudal brahminical administration has planned for an ‘Utsav.’ The term with all its ideological connotations has started revealing its true colors. If we go into the history, in any hour of crisis, the administration has always used the help of cultural programmes to divert and suppress the struggling voices be it the programme of guitaring that was intended to ‘listen silently,’ or any other festivals. This Utsav is no exception. The administration without solving the problems related to the basic amenities how can it talk about grand utsavs. Is this not diverting the struggling students to the repressive ‘cultural events?’
We all knew the nature of administration regarding solving students’ basic problems but what comes as surprising is the democratically elected students union’s decision to conduct the Utsav. The student union that has to respect and represent all the cultures equally has once again unfolded that it can never be different from what the administration is. The students’ council firstly decided to call the vendors for food stall with a menu that was completely Brahminical vegetarian centric as though other food habits are taboos. Upon a protest, the students council decided to not to call any vendors by themselves. Even when an application for a beef stall was put in fulfilling all the formalities, why the student council has refused the permission? The student council elected members behaved not differently from the mainstream political parties. The student council members got elected with the votes of mainly SC, ST, OBC, minority and other democratic students and has failed rather it backstabbed the aspirations of those people.
Every educational institution as guided by the constitution of India is supposed to be a democratic and secular space. In this particular issue our neighboring central university, HCU stands as an example. In the student unions celebrations SUKOON, HCU has the practice of serving a democratic and secular menu including all food cultures, chicken, mutton, beef, pork and other foods. By violating the basic spirit of the constitution, student union union is turning into an anti-constitutional body.
We strongly condemn the Student Council’s attempt to brahminise the democratic campus space. This we feel is an attack on the food culture of the largest population of the India. This is discrimination and oppression of the majoritarian culture by the dominant Brahminical ruling culture. We demand an explanation from the student council, as to why they have denied the permission. We request the entire student community to fight against the discriminatory practices of students’ council towards the food of dalits, bahujans, aadivaasis, and other religious minorities. In this connection we call for boycott of the Brahminical castiest EFLU Utsav.
Assemble @Maha Laqa Bai Chanda Square to Voice against Discriminatory EFLU-UTSAV
March 28, 2014
~ TSA, DABMSA, SIO, PDSU & MSF
~~~
