It was a shame for democracy

I AM deeply anguished by the incidents at Madhav College, Ujjain, in which a professor was killed by a mob. This incident clearly shows that teachers are helpless in front of a mob of marauders.

I AM deeply anguished by the incidents at Madhav College, Ujjain, in which a professor was killed by a mob. This incident clearly shows that teachers are helpless in front of a mob of marauders.

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I too have been the student council president of Old GDC College and vice-president and representative in the university council during my student days, but have never come across an incident of such shame and disgrace.

Professor H S Sabharwal’s death has deeply hurt all teachers, as more than the killing it is the expression shown by the students, or those who descended on the Madhav College posing as students, that has signalled a break from the traditional and hitherto cherished ‘guru-shishya parampara’. The entire teaching community is in a shock.

And at such a time, political parties have rubbed salt into the wounds by their feigned concern. The call to organise a ‘bandh’ or pay obituary by these political organisations is totally uncalled-for.

The incident at Ujjain is not an isolated one, as a nearly identical incident was just about averted at my college during the students’ council elections due to the presence of mind shown by staff at GACC. A mob, managing to jump the police barricades and security at the main gate of the college, ran towards the building where teachers were busy conducting election proceedings. They were carrying stones in their hands and shouting filthy slogans.

Had election officer Sultan, sociology teacher Professor Gupta and peons Shatrughan and Prakash Charwan not rushed to close and lock the channel gate the situation in my college having 80 per cent female staff would have been even worse.

The two-minute time between the locking of the gate and arrival of the students on the scene made all the difference, as their fury was somewhat contained outside.

Colleges are ill-equipped to handle such a situation and on their own the teachers can do nothing as they have been wielding books and pens throughout and not ‘lathis’. To avoid any repeat of such an incident the entry of outsiders should be strictly prohibited and even on general days regulated so that no one enters restricted areas like classrooms and staff rooms.

The administration would have to come forward and enact rules for the implementation of the same, as action cannot be taken by college staff. This will have an added advantage with teachers being spared the ire for regulating entry and punishing trespassers.

If any political outfit has to voice protest against any problem they should inform a day before and that too should come in the form of a delegation comprising not more than four persons. Other correspondence can be done in writing. During election days the colleges have decided to write to the administration and police officials demanding special police force.

As the incidents at both Indore and Ujjain happened in the presence of senior administrative and police officials it shows how helpless the teachers are in stopping an irate mob when those entrusted with the duty of protection and maintaining law and order themselves failed.

Indian culture is such that all bow before a teacher out of reverence and respect. Many things are lost over time and many teachings, philosophies and ideologies fail, but it remains our duty to ensure that civility is maintained in the society.

Student body elections were started with the aim of inculcating the virtues of democracy in the young and to acquaint them with the process of governance and decision-making, but these have slowly been transformed into battlegrounds where political parties vie with each other in a show of strength making the real student stay away from the entire process meant in the fist instance for him.

The teachers want students to become good leaders and inculcate good qualities in them needed by the country. Students of today and leaders of tomorrow have to carry forth the mantle of the person acclaimed by the world as the greatest leader, in the embodiment of our father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.

(As told to Aditya Singh Parmar)(Pushpalata Jain Mejeji is acting principal Government Arts and Commerce College, Indore)