Helpdesks or recruitment centres?
“Catch them young,” the policy of British colonialists applies to students’ political groups recruiting at Delhi University too. And admissions is prime time for these parties. Tanya Ashreena reports.
“Catch them young,” the policy of British colonialists applies to students’ political groups recruiting at Delhi University too. And admissions is prime time for these parties.
Right when you enter the campus, you find several political groups such as National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), All India Student Association (AISA) and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have put up ‘help desks’ for the thousands of DU applicants who have come to seek admission.
But, students say, the so-called help desks are actually recruitment centres.
“I went to NSUI stall. However, rather than answering my query, they kept thrusting their pamphlets at me,” complained Neha Singhal, a DU aspirant.
Her friend, Rahul Mishra agreed. “More than a help, these political students’ groups keep propagating their ideas. They are very irritating,” he said.
Not only large students’ groups, but even smaller organisations, like Kuki Students’ Organization and Disha Students’ Organization have set up stalls.
Some of the groups are forthright about their motive.
“Our group’s name comes from a tribe in Manipur. We are trying to gather as many Manipuri students as possible,”said Kim Haokip, a passout of Indraprastha College.
However, others prefer not to confess their objective. “Our main objective is to help students. The leaflets are only given if they are interested,” said Ashish Bhardwaj, president of AISA’s DU unit.