Hailing the recent victory of Zohran Mamdani as the mayor of New York, newly-elected JNUSU president Aditi Mishra, a PhD scholar at JNU’s Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory said the development is an encouraging sign for politics globally, In an interaction with Ifrah Mufti, she says it’s time to take the Left movement beyond university campuses and into the larger public sphere. Excerpts:
What will be the immediate task for the University that you have planned?
The first priority is to oppose the University administration’s move to install biometric systems at the Dr BR Ambedkar Central Library on campus. It is like a ‘surveillance apparatus’. Student union will hold the administration accountable for its ‘oppressive tendencies’ and will fight to protect students’ rights. I will first meet the Vice Chancellor and demand answers regarding the system. The previous union was promised that no such system would be installed without a committee. Now, we need to find out if that committee was formed and, if so, who its members are. We will also follow up on the GS Cash committee and the campus infrastructure issues, including the falling ceiling fans.
Do you have any political background and when did you enter JNU politics?
No, I have no political background. I have been an activist with the All India Students’ Association and part of the Left Unity panel. My activism began as an undergraduate at Banaras Hindu University where I joined the protests in September 2017 that forced the administration to roll back the patriarchal curfew rules for women’s hostels. Later, during my time at Pondicherry University, I played a role in opposing the saffronisation of the campus and led movements against arbitrary tuition fee hikes. I also participated in the nationwide anti-CAA protests.
Do you think the divide in the left parties does any harm?
It does, to an extent, but it depends on the situation. Last year, SFI contested with BAPSA but failed to win a seat, while the AISA-DSF alliance won three seats, giving one to ABVP. Following this, we had decided that this year to eliminate the ABVP completely, the left united will have to contest together. All left organisations need to work together on the campus but we have to see the credibility of the organisiations as well. This is no child’s play.
You are the sixth woman president in 30 years. What do you have to say on it?
The result speaks for themselves. This year, three women are in the central panel, along with many women as school counselors. In this anti-women regime, women are standing tall and strong.