Lucknow: Dalit students from BBAU root for change

Lucknow’s Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) has become a hotbed of politics yet again.

With Lok Sabha elections underway, a section of students and guest faculty, especially those belonging to the Dalit community, have started campaigning for the candidates of Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party coalition.

These students, mostly researchers, after finishing their day’s work visit nearby areas and slums to educate the voters about what they call the “anti-people” policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“It is our duty to tell people about what is wrong and what is right. And we are doing exactly that. BJP is a party of jumlas,” said Jay Singh, research scholar, information technology course.

“During our interaction with slum dwellers of Mohanlalganj we found their living conditions to be worse than animals. Despite tall claims of Swachh Bharat, people are forced to live in dirty surroundings,” he claimed.

Alok Kumar Singh, a B Ed student, said, “My heart bleeds to see the living condition of dalit brothers and sisters in slum. They work hard and yet there has been no improvement in their living standards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s washing feet of dalits at the Kumbh in Prayagraj was just an eye wash.”

Ajay Kumar, a guest faculty at BBAU, said, “As a Dalit, it is my duty to tell the fellow citizens how the present government has cut down on scholarship amount,” he said.

Many present and former students are also campaigning for BSP candidates on social media as well as through door-to-door interaction with voters.

In 2016, a group of students created a flutter when they shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he was on dais during its convocation ceremony.