On the very next day of an extremely authoritarian move by the fascistic Modi government, as a befitting reply, SFI organised beef festivals in 210 centers across Kerala. The newly brought ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets is an another declaration of war on the democratic rights of the people. immedeatly after the highly condemnable rule was announced SFI stated that it will not succumb to the fascistic order which is an attack to the cultural diversity of the nation on the one hand and an assault to the small cattle traders and their livelihood on the other. 

 

Challenging the Sangh initiated Modi diktat, in a flash response the Kerala state committee of SFI announced that they will hold Beef festivals under the banner of all area committees across the state. "How can someone decide what we should eat. Government should be concerned about whether people have enough and nutritious food to eat. Are they bringing this rule to remove poverty in Indian villages? We will not allow this fascism to invade our kitchens. We will eat whatever we want, this is just the beginning of our agitation. This is an agitation to push away the fascism. To protect the cattle in the country, farming system in the country needs to be strengthened. This ban will affect the livelihood of many people. When the Sangh Parivar brought in such restrictions earlier, but the UDF kept quiet all these years and now this new rule is the result of their silence,"” M Vijin, SFI state secretary said. 

 

Despite all most all the campuses in Kerala are being closed for vacation, a huge participation of students and masses are seen in the beef festivals organised today. In many places, Beef was cooked openly and served to the public with holding posters against the central government's decision. 'Nobody has any authority to decide what the people should eat or how to live. Democracy is not imposing your agenda and choices over the other. If the diversity and the democratic right of choice and belief are not protected, you better take the battle to the streets. We will not surrender to these fascistic diktats. " SFI state president Jaick C Thomas stated. SFI Will organise similar programmes in more places in coming days. 

 

Students Federation of India expresses it's deep condolence on the early demise of Com Arnab Bose state Secretariat member, and Hoogly district commitee secretary, West Bengal. Comrade Arnab was admitted to a private nursing home in Kolkata day before yesterday, with severe chest infection and around evening took his last breath after a massive cardiac arrest. Like many of his generation, he also came to organisation in the most troubled period in recent time. A brilliant student who got admission in Belur Ramkrishna Mission was not a careerist but. In a institution where students organisation was not legally permissible, he started an agitation again fee hike, disciplinary action was taken against him. But that could not make him leave the path of resistance he chose. After getting job from direct Campusing also he didn't continue that, left everything and became dedicated worker of Students Federation of India. Initially he was given the charge of Singur area commitee, the rainbow coalition of TMC and Maobadi attacked him several times, he was beaten unconscious and left in lonely river bank to die. But like Phoenix he came back every time. Recently in his leadership the Bengal witnessed a remarkable resistance in different colleges of Hoogly where students armed with their books and idea, confronted the anti socials of TMCP. 

Comrade Arnab was a poet, a writer and a really popular face among the masses and cadares. he is one of those who could sacrifice his family or privileges due to the deep sense of commitment towards left ideology. His untimely death has taken away not only mass leader from us but a brave comrade who would have inspired generation to come.

 

The unfinished battle of comrade Arnab will be fought in the streets of struggle, comrade Arnab will live on in our slogans, in the red star of our white flag.

Comrade Aranab Bose Lal Salam.

Comrade Arnab Bose Amar rahe.

Demanding action on the sexual harassment in police custody, the SFI on Saturday moved the West Bengal Women's Commission and human rights panel and took out a protest rally in the heart of the metropolis.

 

Students Federation of India (SFI) state President Madhuja Sen Roy said she and other activists, who participated in a 'March to Raj Bhavan' programme protesting against corruption in the recruitment of teachers in primary schools on March 9, were sent to jail (called correctional home in Bengal) custody for four days by invoking a new stringent law passed against destruction of public property by the Mamata Banerjee government.

 

 

"In jail, the girl student comrades had to face sexual harassment. In the name of security, a number of comrades were asked to take off almost all our clothes and physically checked one after the other. They were verbally and physically harassed.

 

"On March 14, the girl activists were obscenely checked over their clothes before they were produced in court," she alleged.

 

Sen Roy, accompanied by SFI state secretariat member Rituparna Mitra, and two All India Democratic Women's Association leaders Rupa Bagchi and Swapna Bhattacharya called on state women's commission chairperson Sunanda Mukherjee and submitted a written complaint.

 

"Mukherjee assured us she would look into the matter," Sen Roy said.

 

Another complaint was lodged before the West Bengal State Human Rights Commission.

 

The SFI and a number of other Leftist student, women and youth organisations on Saturday took out a rally from College Street to Dharamtala crossing, about three kilometres away, demanding that the guilty be punished.

It has been terrifying days for the campuses in Kerala. In past ten days, more than 30 SFI activists were attacked by the right wing goons in Kerala. The SFI activists are attacked viciously by the communal-right wing organisations all over Kerala, yet no media discuss it. ABVP, with the active support and engagement by RSS and BJP has been in for front in many of these attacks and murder attempts. The SFI activists are attacked in the North Malabar to the South of Kerala and many of the campuses saw blood shedding violence. 

 

One of the comrades who got attacked was a differently abled student. His only hand was hacked by the NSUI –Youth Congress goons in an attack. It is to be noted that the right wing as the name justifies includes not only the RSS but the Congress also. In the campuses of Kerala, SFI has been attacked in a horrifying manner by ABVP, NSUI, MSF, RSS and Youth Congress. The right wing goons covered by the right wing media somewhat are doing much ‘appreciable’ job for the RSS. Unlike before, NSUI and ABVP is an alliance in Kerala more visibly. SFI activists were attacked at three different places from south to north Kerala yesterday, 16th march, only.  

 

In Swami Nithyananda Polytechnic College, Kanhangad ABVP members unleashed an attack on the women students who were peacefully protesting against the ABVP. The ABVP activists wrote obscene statements about the women students of the college in the Girls’ restroom. The statements were highly abusive and insulting to women. ABVP activists make lewd and obscene comments on the women students who are active in SFI. This is a way they try to intimidate women students from entering politics.  The women students under the leadership of SFI protested against these statements and conducted a march. When the march reached the main gate of the college, ABVP activists unleashed an attack on the march and attacked Comrade Jasna who was leading the march. Jasna, who was brutally attacked and harassed by the ABVP goons, was later admitted to the District hospital, Kasargod. In the last Poly election, SFI won all the seats and this made the ABVP violent. After the elections, ABVP has been attacking the SFI activists of the campus in a frequent and violent manner. 

 

When it comes to Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram the right-wing alliance is more visible. An MSF (Muslim Students Federation) activist named Nihmathulla ragged a first-year student and ridiculed her for her dressing choices, on this Wednesday. The students of Law Academy said that it has been a habit of the right wing student political parties to comment on the choices women students make, on what to wear and what not to. SFI protested against the moral policing and ragging by the MSF activist and campaigned against it in the campus. This made the NSUI-ABVP- MSF wing angry and that later lead to the attack. The NSUI-ABVP- MSF alliance is strong in almost every college in Kerala, especially when it comes to attacking SFI. The attack was a joint one under the leadership of NSUI, ABVP and MSF unit committees. On Friday morning, Jishnu Ramesh, S Abhijith, M S Noorul Hasan who are the heads of the unit committees of NSUI, ABVP and MSF lead the attack and stormed violence into the second year B.Com LLB classroom. The women students inside the classroom were abused and threatened by the right wing goons. When the women students ran out of the classroom and then the right wing goons locked the classroom and attacked the students with iron rods, chains, sticks and other dangerous tools. The SFI activists were brutally beaten up inside the classroom by a group of about forty people. They hit Karthik Lal’s and Subin Mathew Chacko’s heads with iron rods and metal objects. Their heads were bashed with iron rods. Students from other classes came there hearing the students scream and they too were attacked with metal rods. The right wing goons broke first-year student Ashiq Ali’s legs and viciously assaulted another student, J N Ashik. Final Year student Vaishnav Datt had severe head injuries after he got hit by metal blocks. All five of them were hospitalized and are in critical conditions. The SFI activists are cornered and attacked in Law academy. The right wing media and the neutralists were silent when SFI activists were attacked. 

 

Sree Kerala Varma College saw an attack that has never happened before. The college is in an RSS den. The ward in which the college is situated is run by the RSS for a long time. The campus has lost two students in the past who were killed by the RSS. Sree Kerala Varma College was the first educational institution that reacted on the Dadri mob lynching. From then onward the tension between RSS and the student community has been more intense than the past. On march 17th, BJP organized a programme inside the campus with many RSS activists and criminals participating in.  

 

The RSS, ABVP Yuv Morcha activists arrived the campus in the name of former student meet against the SFI. When a student of the campus parked his bike near the college, they harassed him and did not let him park his bike there. Later when two students went outside, they were beaten up by those gathered in the meeting. The group soon gathered in front of the college gate, threatening to enter forcibly. The students of the college, many of them SFI activists, blocked their entry at the gates and held them off for a short time. The group pelted object at the students and started to hit the students standing outside the campus. One could see in the video of the attack, some students inside the campus throwing objects at the group, to rescue the students being beaten up outside the gate. Though the ABVP-RSS activists backed down then, they soon came back with more people and entered the campus forcibly, unleashing violence. One can see ABVP-RSS activists marching into the college carrying sticks, stones and unknown objects threatening the students inside the college. After that, the group entered the campus with forty and sticks and started beating up the students. Women students and teachers got hit by the stones pelting. One SFI activists got stripped half-naked by the RSS criminals and many SFI activists were severely injured.

 

The ABVP claims that it was an anti-fascist meet against the SFI in the campus. During the meeting, BJP State General Secretary B.Gopalakrishnan openly advocated the ABVP-RSS activists to unleash violence. In the video, he is heard saying – “We will enter the campus and beat them up”. Though the meeting was supposedly against violence in the campus, many of those who attended were outsiders, carrying stones and sticks. None of them were students of the campus and one could not find a single woman in that meeting. One hour after the attack, the RSS goons went to College Union Editor’s house and threatened his sister. Most of the comrades are not able to go to their homes because of the unleashed violence. Their families are threatened and blackmailed. Some of them were attacked on their way to home. Even then, the media finds it balancing and the attacks on the students by outsiders are justified. The teachers association condemned the attack.