The All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Monday announced that its three student leaders, Neha Bora, Manish Kumar and Aameen Amitoj, had concluded their 23-day hunger strike at Jantar Mantar after an appeal by a delegation led by parliamentarians Manoj Jha, Rajaram Singh and Amra Ram, along with Dr Yogendra Yadav, advocate Prashant Bhushan, Prof. Atul Sood, and actors Prakash Raj and Shabana Azmi.
The delegation appealed to the students to end fast as Dr. Yogendra Yadav said, “this is not the breaking of the hunger strike, but a conclusion of this form of struggle.” Dr. Manoj Jha added, “what you have achieved is massive, as this government stands exposed on all fronts”. Shabana Azmi stated, “we have failed as a generation to do good to our GenZ, but you people have shown us the way forward.” Rajaram Singh concluded by saying, “your struggle will also roar in the house of democracy from today onwards. You have shown all of opposition the way to fight.”
AISA claimed the three student leaders had each lost more than 12% of their body weight, endured dangerously low blood sugar levels, and suffered severe impacts on their organs during the fast. The organisation also announced that it would launch a month-long campaign against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 alongside the ongoing Parliament session, echoing the demands raised during the hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
‘Sansad Chalo’
Meanwhile, activists and student protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar ahead of the CJP proposed “Chalo Sansad” march. Gitanjali Angmo, wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk, laid out the priorities she wants the demonstrators to hold onto through the day.
“We will focus on this march. Three points are very important today. First, we will focus on conducting the march peacefully. Let us stay focused on the issue- the issue of education, which is a vital need for this country and remain vigilant,” she told ANI at the protest site.
Activists affiliated to the CJP are gearing up to try and march towards Parliament even as the Delhi Police maintains a strict security perimeter. The proposed march was first announced by Sonam Wangchuk, who has since been removed from the protest site to the Safdarjung Hospital following a 20-day hunger strike.
On Monday, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das signalled the organisation’s willingness to engage in talks with the government regarding their long-standing demands for examination reforms. While noting that the administration’s overtures came late, he stated that they remain open to discussions to resolve the impasse surrounding the education system.
Das claimed that there is no clarity from the administration’s side despite their recent attempt to open talks adding, that “the ball is in their court.”
He said, “The administration is trying to open talks with the government. They have come very late, but we have opened our hearts and said that we are willing to talk to them. There has been no clarity from their side as of now. The ball is in their court.”Earlier in the day, Sonam Wangchuk said he would end his hunger strike if the government accepts accountability for recent failures in the education system, including paper leaks, or if Members of Parliament assure him that the issue of education accountability will be taken up during the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting from Monday.
