This article written by Radhika Saxena was first published in First Taste of Law on 30th August 2013.

The most distinct and amusing aspect of the Law Faculty life are the students.
Law Fac boasts of students from varied backgrounds. We’re all graduates in different streams; some of us even post graduates. This obviously entails a GREAT classroom discussion and an intellectually thriving atmosphere, but it does have its shortcomings.

The best thing about having students from different colleges and streams is what they bring to the Student Union elections! (Usually not much though, but it’s a debacle worth witnessing.) The frenzy on campus, police barricades, desi naarebaazi (with little to no work at all) – it’s simply superb!

THE BAIT AS AGAINST A DEBATE:

“With great power comes great responsibility.”
What a beautiful saying! Except, students at Law Fac only seem to be interested in gaining the seat of power and not really working thereafter. Student Elections are such a BIG DEAL at Law Fac, that it’s almost crazy! It’s almost like we’re the hub of all political activities; but honestly, it’s more akin to sitting on top of a live volcano. We’re always under the apprehension of our classes being disrupted and that too for no good use.

From what I know, the candidates get roughly two weeks to campaign, but it’s a pity that most of these students have no clue as to what campaigning really is or entails. They will stand outside your class, corner you every now and then, shake hands and say, “Hi, I am XYZ, ABC year. Please vote for me.” Every now and then, they add heavy words like, “Loktantra kobadhayein, votekarneaayein.”

It’s amazing how easily these candidates take every student at Faculty of Law to be dumb enough to be persuaded to come all the way to Campus to vote for them merely because they shook hands with us, while we could easily be doing better things in life.

This is a fact, no candidate will EVER have an agenda, even if they do, it will NEVER be communicated. Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) is very big on ‘naarebaazi’ but not big on the ‘kaam’. ABVP and NSUI, the two most active parties in North Campus will always be striking and shouting slogans for something or the other outside Faculty of Arts, but these strikes and slogans never really result in any work at all. There is ZERO follow up action. Instead, they leave the premises quite dirty with all their placards and circulars lying around.

Not only do the students not have an agenda, the faculty and management does not organize a debate where in these candidates can be questioned on the work they have done or hope to do. All of the two weeks go to the gutter, quite literally, with all the cards and posters strewn around campus, etc.

Ironically, these very candidates will do practically ANYTHING to get you to vote for them. So if you have a problem in college you need sorted out, elections is when you go and ask them to get it done. You can be SURE that it will be done before you can even finish talking about it, even if it’s something like clean bathrooms that you ask for!

POLITICAL ACTIVISM AT JNU – A STARK CONTRAST:

Lately, AISA ( All India Students Association) mostly a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) product has entered the DU scene, but is yet to succeed. They are really people to watch out for. They come with a passion, with an agenda and leave you spell bound when they finish their speeches a fervent, “Inquilab Zindabad!”

Interestingly, the Reject FYUP Campaign is also the brain child of JNU (including other parties therein) activism, and not much of NSUI or ABVP, the latter striking for bills being passed at the Center, in the Parliament of India, judicial reforms, corruption, rape, etc. Though, the maximum that they’ll do is precisely that, and maybe a big board that they might urge you to sign on, expressing your solidarity for PQR person(s).

If you think DU Student Union elections are crazy, you should really go to JNU before the elections (both take place roughly on the same date) and see the kind of work they’re doing and the presence they have on campus -The kind of presence that is REALLY felt, not just by students, but the administration too. They go on hunger strikes (among other things) outside the admin block, but will still come and talk to you if you’re lurking about, that too, not necessarily about their campaign, but life in general. Their presence is such that they can disrupt classes altogether, making sure that no students or teachers can participate in an exchange of knowledge at all on those particular days.

A general body meeting is organized where the candidates get to talk about their agendas, in front of all the students and faculty, and can be questioned endlessly about the same. They literally run a government with a coalition and what not!

DUSU ELECTIONS STILL WORTH A WATCH:
But whatever said and done, the DU student elections are really something to watch out for. Most of August and September goes into this, and the entire campus is frenzied. It’s really something you may not get to witness so closely anywhere else. On the day of the elections, the entire area from Chhattra Marg to Faculty of Law is barricaded with police vans and personnel, in and outside college, roads are blocked, metal detectors are installed at the college gate, etc. It’s one heck of an experience. Hell, I say it’s totally worth travelling to come, stand in queue for an hour to cast a vote.

Sadly, most of the people don’t exercise their right and stay home on the day of election. I don’t blame them though, they might as well not vote for candidates who expect them to vote because they shook hands and asked for the same.