Ahead of the Young India Adhikar March on February 7, the Young India National Coordination Committee organised a public meeting on Tuesday at which several professors, activists and lawyers expressed their support.
The march, which will be along the lines of the Kisan March held in November 2018, seeks to bring together youth from across the country, who have “fought against the divisive anti-education, anti-youth policies of the Modi-led government in last five years”, to the Capital to run a campaign against the BJP-led Centre.
Lending his support to the students and jobseekers, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan said: “We were made many promises like jobs, end to corruption and promise of better days by the Modi government but what we got instead was fewer jobs, historic unemployment rate and no employment guarantee.”
He also said that there was huge inequality of wealth in the country and suggested that by imposing a wealth tax, inheritance tax and gift tax on people who have high income, the right to employment could be introduced.
‘Universities under attack’
Several of the panellists, including Nivedita Menon and Jayati Ghosh, both professors at JNU, said that universities were under attack as they were thinking spaces and the government did not want any of its policies questioned and hence was branding those who were asking questions as “anti-national”.
“The battles the students have been fighting against the Modi government is true patriotism towards their country as they are demanding jobs, education, gender and social justice and implementation of constitutionally mandated reservations,” said Prof. Menon.
MLA and activist Jignesh Mevani said that the “Gujarat model” was filled with unemployment and the Modi government was expanding it to the rest of India.
“Nearly 7,000 graduates applied for 13 waiter jobs, which had education requirement of Class IV pass, at the Maharashtra Secretariat canteen. This is the situation in India, which Modi government has brought,” said Mr. Mevani.
Apoorvanand, professor at Delhi University, said: “The present government is destroying all the democratic institutions... this must, and should, be stopped. Just like the alliance of the parties nationally, we need alliance of students-youth movement across the country.”
