In the wake of its recent refusal to allow Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with students and unemployed youngsters on the campus, the Osmania University (OU) in Hyderabad has now become a point of controversy. The OU authorities have claimed that the decision was taken in view of the university's Executive Council (EC) resolution not to permit political events on the campus premises. However, the Congress and a faction of students and alumni have alleged that the varsity was acting on the behest of the TRS government to crush critical dialogue.
Rahul’s programme at OU was scheduled in the backdrop of a mass outreach drive planned by the Congress, as part of which the leader is attending a grand meeting organised by the state Congress unit in Warangal on May 6 and 7. After the university declined to permit the interaction citing the council resolution, a group of Congress workers and research scholars had reached out to the Telangana High Court against the move. However, the court upheld the varsity’s decision, stating that the event may have “political overtones”.
While hearing the petition, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said there was an absence of material to substantiate the claim that the said meeting was related to “academic deliberations, debates or discussion”. Earlier, the police had arrested at least 18 members of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), including its state president B Venkat, for allegedly breaking the law while protesting at the chamber of the OU Vice Chancellor in connection with the denial of permission to Rahul’s event. All of them were lodged in the Chanchalguda Central Jail.
Though the ban on the event sounds like the university simply exercising its autonomy, scholars and observers feel that the decision has political undertones, especially given the soured relationship of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao – popularly called KCR – with the Osmania fraternity. KCR, who once enjoyed overwhelming support from OU in the backdrop of the separate statehood movement, has been able to make only one visit to the campus since he came to power in Telangana, that too while accompanying former President of India Pranab Mukherjee in 2016 during the varsity’s centenary celebrations.
Several student activists and bodies at the time had warned him against visiting the university, alleging that he had failed to fulfil his promises of increased employment opportunities. He was also accused of “negligence of the public education sector” in the state. It is widely believed that even now, if he visits the OU campus, KCR will not be welcomed because of the staunch opposition from sections of students with different political affiliations. This is seen as one of the reasons for KCR to sabotage the visits by other politicians to the campus.
The OU has historically been the epicentre of several socio-political movements, and has played a crucial role in building the consciousness for a separate Telangana. The students of OU were the pioneers of the first (1969) and second (2000-2014) phases of the Telangana movement. The campus also acted as a springboard for the extreme Left and right wings, as well as Ambedkarite politics, in the larger Telugu-speaking region.
A file ilamge of students protestingagainst CAA-NRC at the Osmania University's Arts College. Image courtesy: Charan Teja
Ironically, during the Telangana agitation, KCR was stopped at the gates of the OU campus multiple times by the then Congress government. Indeed, the students of OU were not just the backbone of the statehood movement, but also a key source of power for KCR throughout the struggle. Several notable TRS leaders including Gadari Kishore, Balka Suman, Pidamarthi Ravi, Errolla Srinivas and Manne Krishank started their political careers as student leaders at the OU campus.
Manavatha Roy, one of the OU research scholars who moved the HC in connection with the Rahul row, told TNM that the KCR government did not want to allow any critical platform to survive. Manavatha, who is also a Congress member, alleged that this ban was not intended to implement the so-called EC resolution, but that it was a deliberate ploy by the TRS government. “The government is scared of the new leadership that might emerge from such critical dialogues,” he said.
Manavatha further stated that they would next take up the matter with the Supreme Court of India, because not allowing political discussions was against the spirit of the university. When asked if the Congress was trying to bring its politics to the campus, he said that it was the KCR government that politicised an event meant for dialogue.
Besides the Congress, several left student bodies have also condemned the authorities move disallowing Rahul to interact with the students. Sathya Nelli, a student activist and columnist from OU, pointed out the selective application of the rule when it comes to political events in the campus. “If the OU administration is that concerned about not allowing political events on campus, why have they not applied the same rule to the student wing of the ruling TRS? Why are political rallies and programmes conducted by the TRS student wing allowed? This is an autocratic rule that attempts to curb students’ right to express and engage in critical discourse.”
Some academicians also pointed out that universities were part and parcel of the state’s social and political sphere, and allowing critical discussions is essential to a space like Osmania. Sudharshan Balaboina, assistant professor, Department of Political Science, Nizam College, said that there would be no breach of order by merely allowing someone like Rahul Gandhi to interact with the students of the university. “University is a political space by its very nature. But our universities are lacking a critical dialogue culture. What if someone else comes to power tomorrow and they want to ban you? Such intolerance only shows our incapability to engage,” he added.
Senior journalist and professor K Nageshwar added that universities are meant to be centres for ideas. “No loss or damage would occur if Rahul Gandhi is allowed to go ahead with his programme, provided academic peace and normalcy is maintained.” The professor further stated that Osmania had a history of accommodating prominent political figures from a wide range of ideological leanings to address the students. “Similarly, states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also given space to Rahul Gandhi to interact with students at different educational institutions,” he added.