For democracy’s sake: let’s revive student unions

We are paying price of General Zia’s decision to ban student unions; let us not continue with precedent he set.

This May, Pakistan witnessed a democratic transition, bringing hope that maybe, this time around, the elected candidates would lead the nation out of the abyss that it is currently in. But dreams seldom come true. Looking at the dismal performances of our elected representatives, one tends to ask, “Are they the best that this nation could elect?”

The answer seems to be  a resounding ‘yes’! They are the best we could offer, as there is a severe leadership crisis in the country. The reason for this dearth of leadership is the ban on student politics. We are paying the price of General Ziaul Haq’s decision to ban student unions in 1983 to undermine the democratic struggle against his authoritarian regime, which was largely fuelled by students at the time.

In the wake of the 2013 elections, the young were left with no choice but to vote for the same old political elite who have been exploiting them since 1947. Amid all this chaos, came the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that gave 35 per cent election tickets to its young guns in order to pump fresh blood into politics. People had high expectations but — and here is the catch — most of its young candidates had no political experience. The national political level is not a platform for one to polish one’s leadership qualities. This is where student politics comes in handy. Potential candidates are trained to be able to represent their respective constituencies in the future.

The vacuum created by the absence of student unions was largely filled by the student wings of political parties. But there are problems with the leadership that these student wings nurture. They are trained to obey party orders and are more concerned about the approval of their party leaders rather than their constituents (the students), as the student wing members are selected by their parties and not by the students. So, when these young leaders enter mainstream politics, they are more concerned about serving their party interest, and the party leader’s whims, rather than the interests of the people.

Student unions need to be revived but a few necessary steps need to be taken before that happens. First, student wings of political parties should be banned so that they do not influence the revived student unions. Second, students with political affiliations should not be allowed to hold offices in these newly revived unions. Members of student wings of political parties should also not be allowed to contest student union elections, so the unions have a chance at remaining impartial. Lastly, elections of student unions should be conducted on a non-party basis.

We have been paying the price of General Zia’s decision to ban student unions. Let us not continue with the precedent he set.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2013.