The 29-day long strike at the Kerala Law Academy in Thiruvananthapuram have successfully come to an end on Wednesday evening.
The stir would go down in history as a remarkable student protest witnessed by Kerala. Analyzing its various aspects will therefore be relevant.
It’s a fact that the Left particularly the CPM is comparatively more proficient in organizing protests. But it’s also a reality that the CPM or the governments led by the party lack the adeptness in handling the agitations. The main reason for the Law Academy strike to getprolonged and turn eventful is the ineptitude of the CPM to deal with the public protests. The approach of V S Achuthananthan’s LDF government towards the Chengara struggle and Kinaloor strikeduring his tenure should be remembered at this time. The government had then tried to suppress the protests using humiliating words like rubber and milk thieves, Maoists and terrorists.
The Left wing holds a rigid stance towards self-financing colleges. The Law Academy in Thiruvananthapuram could be described as Kerala’s first self-financing college. The institution has been functioning by denying even the basic democratic rights of the students. The students began the protest demanding the resignation of the college principal. A strange aspect of the agitation is that the Left government made several attempts to protect the principal who faces severe allegations. It indicates that the approach of the Left towards the private colleges isn’t sincere or ethical.
The Law Academy stir was initiated by the students of the college particularly girls, who alleged harassment at the hands of the college management. Student unions and political parties later got involved in the protest. It gives hope about the future of the public protests conveying yet another message that the agitations initiated by the victims could succeed and that the mainstream parties wouldn’t be able to neglect them.
Another aspect is that the college has been functioning for decades on a land allotted by the governmentin the state capital. Both the Left and the Right political fronts has long been backing this scam with both the governments giving way lands to individuals and social organizations favoured by them.
Therefore the Law Academy strike should also extend into the matters concerning the land on which it stands. In a state where the landless and homeless poor are branded as terrorists by slapping the UAPA for demanding plots to build homes, the fact that the corporate moguls are given urban plots worth crores, is shocking.