Students and Politics - The Indian Scenario

The student community, being young and energetic, are a bundle of inflammable material, which at the touch of a spark ignites into a large uncontrollable fire like forest fire. They, being young have no patience, are lively and malleable.

In India, the trend of students actively participating in politics began in the early 20th century, when India was fighting for its freedom. The elders being busy with their bread earning, they actively encouraged the youngsters to enter the arena of politics. Besides, they were young and would be easily enthused to join the mass movement at the drop of a hat. Political parties at that time started enlisting the support of the young students who organized themselves happily, to help one party or the other. This trend started in the early years of 20th century and continued and even expanded up to date.

even so, once independence was won, it was to be reconsidered if students ought to be provided or couraged to enter politics. Some sections of society now started believing that students ought to stand back from politics and keep to their study schedules only. While the society kept debating on this issue, the politician took the younger generation as their work cum energy tanks and this participation of students in politics has come to stay.

The present scenario in India is thus a keen struggle of political parties engaged in enlisting support of students. This evidently results in the students getting sharply divided as if they were of this political party or that so a lot so, even the campus elections become tainted with a touch of politics.

There is surely nothing without advantages and disadvantages, so does this involvement of students in politics. There are both serious disadvantages and may be few advantages too of students being on the centre stage of politics. Disadvantages outnumber the advantages. Firstly, while the students, have primarily entered college for studies they get distracted from their prime objective and become entangled in the dirty game of politics. The energy and time they use or waster in masterminding political moves, could well be used to study. This entry of politics in the premises of educational institutions has caused a lot of a damage to a lot of students. Students have got rusticated owing to their active participation in politics, thus losing their hold on studies. Politics teaches students to put an end to all rules and regulations and become rowdy and violent.

This leads to closure of institutions which again take a toll of students' study time. The very innocent and loving appearance of children gets lost and they become rude, arrogant and disobedient. When there is too a lot of hooliganism entering into educational institutions, even police is to be known as occasionally and there is utter disorder in the campus and even bullets find their manner among the students. The disadvantages of students entering politics are numerous and destructive.

When we study the advantages of this system, they do exist but, are very few and hardly important. Children entering the arena of politics learn the art of public speaking. They learn to be assertive and impressive. This medium is a good stepping stone to the art of leadership. The significant and real advantage is that students in these prime years of life acquire several knowledge of politics which gives them training to enter the arena as trained politicians.

After studying the pros and cons of students' participation in politics, the disadvantages are more damaging than the gains acquired in the sequence. For, all the advantages students acquire, can as well be achieved so in other ways also and there is no need for their entry into politics.

Students have to stand back from politics and retain their interest in studies which alone can help them steer the ships of their lives.