Committed To Students & Nation ¡¡ Aware,Awakened, Active & Determined Individuals Can Bring Change!!

Every once in a while, I believe, one should try their best to make a change. For, it is the small steps on our part that pave the way to a better tomorrow. Last December, I was fortunate enough to witness one such endeavor in the form of the 17^th World Festival of Youth & Students in South Africa from the 13^th Dec.- 21^st Dec. 2010. It is an annual event hosted by the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

I was excited at the idea of attending such a unique festival and in retrospect, I am glad that I did; it is such a nice memory to have etched on my mind for a long time to come. This annual festival has a unique theme each year on which the youth representatives from all over the world gather and discuss the issues they believe is important. I was one such participant. This year’s theme was “Let’s Defeat Imperialism, for a world of peace, solidarity and social transformation”— a brilliant idea. For years now we have heard versions of what the leaders of a various assortment of countries think about this issue but this platform was a wonderful way of giving voice to the youth—the present and the future of the world—about their views on the subject.

During my stay in South Africa, I could not help but notice the finer differences between their system and ours. They are not very overt things, rather smaller things in fact; such as the Youth movement in Africa is very strong and is, at the same time, more socialist in nature. By saying that it is a strong youth movement, I mean to imply that they seem to hold direct influence in the policy making of the reigning government. They are also more bent towards what is known as “Black Nationalism” which is essentially a focus on the native Africans. The student movements are particularly strong in not only South Africa but also some other countries such as Venezuela.

But apart from all this serious overt side to them, the Africans also have a fun way of putting forth their opinion to the public. They do so, by the means of music. During their protests and rallies, instead of shouting out slogans like it is done traditionally, they prefer to make themselves heard by singing out their issues. It is a very moving sight, people with banners, hurdled in group, singing out their causes and concerns, and I think, just how can anyone refuse to listen to this! I paid enough attention to what they were saying and was touched by the songs’ humble lyrics and more or less tell the listener the background of the people of the country.

As an example, I would like to show you the lyrics of two such songs:

1. ”Iyho uSolomon, Solomon………. Iyho Solomon !
Isotsha lo Mkhonto We Sizwe!
Wa yo bulala amabhunu eAfrika!”

Translation :- “Oh Solomon, The Spear of the Nation soldier. He struggled against the boer opressors in Africa.”

2. ”My mother was a kitchengirl, my father was a cabinboy,
and that is why i am a communist
and that is why i am a communist”

So you can see for yourself what the people back there are truly fighting for.

However, let not this fun and innovative way of protesting fool you into thinking that they take their politics any less seriously. The truth is, that they are all very well grounded when it comes to their basics of politics. They are, in fact, very focussed towards their goals, as is significant from their songs. Glimpses of it can be seen when they protest for the freedom of Western Sahara from Morocco and how strongly they feel about it. It is among the causes they really believe in as is the cause of the Cuban Five, where these people want the five Cuban people who are detained in the USA with the charge of murder and spying and are spending precious time in the American jails to be set free and be able to lead a life of dignity. And the controversy and other problems pertaining to Palestine. Truth be told, these are among the very few various issues that is so important to them. They also hold a very strong view about Kurdistan and want autonomy because they feel that their culture and language should be preserved.

I think it was the others’ views on India that grabbed my attention me the most. Personally, it was very nice to discover that the South Africans view India as their friends and it is always nice to have friends. Our friends, then also think that on the whole, India is socialist country. And this is the reason they have rationalized about why India is not given a permanent seat in the United Nations till date.

With all this synergy, I really could not simply seat back and observe. And so, I got on the stage and delivered a speech on the topic Democracy, Freedom and Human Rights. I principally focused on the Indian democratic setup and the challenges we face. As an example, I talked about the NSUI internal elections, which is an initiative by NSUI to bring students close to grass root level democratic setup. The focus was also drawn towards the significance and importance of the centralized universities in higher education and research. This was also said to further discuss the DYFI point of view that centralized universities are an interference of the Union government in states.

On the whole, it was a great experience and I’m glad to have been a part of it. I hope for more times like this to come and I hope all the more for a better world of peace and solidarity.