PANAJI
The student movement in the past had been remarkable that proved nothing was achieved without struggle, be it ensuring the setting up of schools in the remotest part, combating the shortage of teachers, and proper infrastructure, or forcing the government to amend the law for 50 per cent concession in bus fare.
The movement, as recalled by some veterans, was significant in the 80s in many aspects as young students did not hesitate to question the politicians to the point.
Fight for society
“In all sincerity, we wanted to bring about a change for the betterment of society and we often refused to be part of any political party. We did not want to mix politics with our genuine issues, not about students only but also society as a whole,” a former student activist said.
Sitting High Court Judge Mahesh Sonak, ex-District Court Judge Desmond D’Costa, journalists Jyoti Dhond and Sandesh Prabhudesai; lawyer Aires Rodrigues, associate professor Prashant Talpankar, Mohandas Lolienkar, Adv Cleofato Coutinho and many others took the lead. While their movement was successful, each of them excelled in their career as well.
The yesteryears
“Having been closely associated with the vibrant student movements in Goa in the 70s and 80s, it is extremely anguishing and disheartening that student activism today is virtually non-existent in the State. In our days, students were known for having strong opinions and expressing them without fear. We demonstrated to the government that student power was a force to reckon with,” noted lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues said.
Unlike today, the group then held regular meetings to strengthen the movement with a clear ideology. As per records, the first major event was a conference in Ponda in 1981 by the then All Goa Students’ Union (AGSU) on the need for an ideology to guide the future of the students’ movement in Goa. This was followed by a workshop guided by activists wherein emphasis was laid on strong and independent students organization. It was at this time that Progressive Students Union (PSU) was formed as a breakaway group of the AGSU.
Former student activist Prashanti Talpankar, who currently serves as the Associate Professor at Dnyanprassarak Mandal's College and Research Centre, recalled PSU’s determination to bring a change for the better.
“The students’ movement had a clear ideology. We took up genuine and crucial issues with the government and the authorities. To identify problems in villages and understand their lifestyle, students organized camps. On the concluding day, students came together to share their experiences and stage a street play to convey the government problems in each of these villages. It was a collective fight to solve issues pertaining to the students as well as the society,” she recalled.
Political colour
The activists, nearly all of whom have distanced politics from their current profession, refused any support from political parties.
“Unlike our good old college days, now, the Student Council elections in the colleges and the university are fought in dirty political style, with patronage in money and muscle power by political parties. This is a step in the wrong direction and portends grave consequences. We have even witnessed candidates being kidnapped. Is this the way to prepare our future politicians? Is this conducive to harmony that must prevail in and around the educational campus?” Rodrigues questioned.
Unmasking scandals
The then students’ union also played a key role in unmasking one of the scandals wherein a politician’s niece was given admission to a medical college despite the marks being allegedly illegally changed. The PSU thereafter took up several cases especially in the rural areas where students were either without teachers or bathroom-cum-toilet in a village in Sanguem was converted into a classroom. The issues were resolved at the speed of light.
Protests and police lathi-charges, gherao, morchas, closure of institutions with the cooperation of students, rasta roko, etc eventually replaced the old methods to solve the issues. But it did not distract the students from genuine issues and neither of these turned violent. It built a strong base in favour of the credibility of the students’ movement in Goa.
Now, for elections
Some of them alleged that Student Unions today have become more of event companies and their presence is felt either during college/university elections or issues which are generally irrelevant to the students at large or the State. “With Goa currently in dire straits soaked in rampant corruption and bad governance, the Student activism could cause a political, environmental, economic, and much-needed social change that Goa so desperately requires,” Rodrigues said.
