MoC: Liberalisation /on the wall
| << Pamphlets showcasing the ideological engagement of Left student organisations on questions related to the liberalization of Indian economy. This specific selection engages with the creation of Special Economic Zones meant to attract industrial capital. This material is exhibited on a wall panel as part of the Memories of Change exhibition. |
The gradual economic liberalization in India since the early 1990s has not only brought material changes and contrasts, it has also accelerated state disengagement from the Nehruvian and socialist forms of public-funded education. On the one hand, student organisations in universities, from Swadeshi to Marxists resented market-oriented reform attempts inside campuses, but also addressed its national consequences, for farmers’ livelihood, factory workers’ health, environment in mining areas, etc. In traditionally leftist universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University or Jadavpur University, the loosening regional grip of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), partially induced by its faulty industrial policy caused much acrimony. Against the backdrop of the privatization of education, other student organisations rejoice over the crumbling of public higher education in the country, considering it as an enabler in realising one’s dreams. However, the individualisation of aspirations that privatization brings among students, threatens the existence of campus as a public sphere, thereby making it more difficult for organised politics to access spaces that assert collective interests. With the privatization of education, university tends to align with the broader suspicion towards collective action, making such spaces less likely to develop a political character of their own.
All India Students’ Association pamphlet reflecting on the negative externalities of new Special Economic Zones, as India was celebrating it’s 60 years of Independence. Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2007.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union pamphlet linking farmer’s suicide to the impact of liberalisation on the Indian economy. 2008
Protest march endorsed by the All India Students’ Federation and several civil society groups against the activities of the mining MNC POSCO in Orissa. Delhi. 2018.
Protest march endorsed by the All India Students’ Federation and several civil society groups against the activities of the mining MNC POSCO in Orissa. Delhi. 2018.
Students’ Federation of India pamphlet debating the contribution of the Left in addressing the nefarious effects of globalisation and liberalisation. Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2005.
Students’ Federation of India pamphlet debating the contribution of the Left in addressing the nefarious effects of globalisation and liberalisation. Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2005.
All India Students’ Association public meeting announcement to discuss the then government’s intention to open the Indian retail sector to Foreign Direct Investments. Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2012.
Students’ Federation of India discussing the shortcomings of the 2015 Special Economic Zones Act. Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2007.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union pamphlet reporting the visit of students from JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia to a Maruti Suzuki plant on strike. 2011.
Collective of students opposing the installation of a Nestlé outlet in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 2005.