THE Maharashtra state committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) successfully organised a state study camp from June 5 to 8, 2014, at Aadarsh Vidyalaya in Mumbai. A total of 187 delegates from 14 districts of the state, including 43 girl students, attended the camp. The state camp commenced with the hoisting of the flag by SFI state president Mohan Jadhav. After the delegates paid homage at the martyrs column, SFI state secretary Datta Chavan made the introductory and welcome speech. FIRST DAY: JUNE 5 In the first session, Dr Ashok Dhawale, formerly all-India vice president of the SFI and currently an all-India joint secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, took the class on “Current Political Challenges before Our Country.” In a brief introduction, he explained the class difference between the politics of status quo and the politics of revolution, and stressed that icons of the SFI and DYFI, like Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara, were champions of the latter. Moving on to the recent Lok Sabha election results, he stated that the Congress led UPA was routed because of its anti-people neo-liberal policies that led to tremendous price rise, unemployment, agrarian distress and massive corruption. The BJP and its leader Narendra Modi utilised this anti-incumbency factor to the hilt. But, more importantly, they had the full media and money backing of the corporate world. They simultaneously used two cards in their election campaign – the fake ‘development card’ of the so called Gujarat model and the real ‘communal card’ of minority bashing, which had been shamelessly used by Modi during the notorious Gujarat communal carnage 12 years ago. The absence of a strong, united and credible secular alternative also helped the BJP. But, he said, it must be remembered that the BJP has secured only 31 percent of the vote and the NDA only 38 percent of the vote in the country. There was no doubt that the new BJP-led NDA regime will soon come out in its pro-corporate, pro-imperialist, anti-people and divisive colours. This will adversely affect students and youth, and will aggravate all their problems regarding education and employment. Dr Dhawale gave a clarion call to the young delegates to make the necessary changes in their style of functioning so as to make an effective appeal to students and youth, to intensify their struggles and strengthen their organisation manifold, and to overcome the present situation with confidence and determination. The second session was conducted by Dr Sanjay Dabhade on the “Current Educational Scenario.” He stated that the importance of education is to create a society based on knowledge, creativity and social commitment. But the current education system denies this. This education system creates people who only blindly work for the corporates for their bread. He emphasised the implementation of the RTE (Right to Education) Act with some improvements. The scenario in higher education is marked by crass commercialisation. Now, with the BJP gaining power at the centre, the communalisation of the syllabus is likely to come to the fore. The only way to change all this is to build sustained struggles and a strong organisation. The third session was on “What is Socialism?” and this was conducted by Kumar Shiralkar, all-India vice president of the All India Agricultural Workers Union. He explained how human society has changed from ancient times, what were the various phases which it has gone through, and what is the importance of the class struggle between the exploiters and the exploited. He stressed that inequality was not just economic but it was also social. He explained the economic, social and political aspects of socialism and differentiated them from capitalism. He put forward a roadmap of how socialism could be achieved through revolution. SECOND DAY: JUNE 6 The fourth session was on “Increasing Atrocities on Women and Related Laws.” This session was conducted by Mariam Dhawale, formerly SFI all-India vice president and currently all-India vice president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association. She explained the historical and current roots of the phenomenon of injustice, discrimination and atrocities against women in various forms. She also gave an idea of the current laws and the need for both their radical improvement and stringent implementation. She stated that the challenge before us is to fight globalisation policies which encourage consumerist culture and the commodification of women. Communal and fundamentalist forces of all hues must also be fought because all of them advocate the subjugation of women. The need of the hour is to challenge the feudal and patriarchal value systems which reinforce the subordinate status of women. We must radically change the present system to bring in both gender and class equality and also achieve the annihilation of the caste system. The fifth session was conducted by Dr Maharudra Dake, former SFI state secretary, on “Philosophy of Life and How to Live a Happy Life.” He explained that when we are part of the movement, we have to face various problems on various fronts. The best way to overcome them is to create a collective team through the struggle against all types of injustice, a creative work culture, strong bonding, friendly approach, and respect for the independence of others. Delegates were happy since this was a new subject being taken in an SFI class for the first time. THIRD DAY: JUNE 7 The sixth session was on “What should be the Economic Policies of India?” This was conducted by former SFI CEC member and currently CITU Pune district president Ajit Abhyankar. He targeted the current neo-liberal policies of successive central governments who on the one hand give massive concessions to the corporate houses but on other hand say that there is no money for basic amenities like education, employment and health. He also dealt with the burning issue of black money and corruption and explained how it could be rooted out. The newly formed BJP government has shown its true colours by proposing to bring 100 percent FDI in so sensitive a field as defence production. Hence the struggle for a radical policy change is a must. The seventh session was on “Social Media and Students” which was conducted by Nilesh Patil and Prasad Subramaniam. Apart from stating the advantages of social media, they also explained the limitations. Social media is an effective tool for campaigning on issues. But it should also be related to ground level struggles, to ensure its best use. In the eighth session, all delegates were divided into 11 groups and were sent to various areas and markets in Mumbai. In just two hours they collected a total amount of Rs 22,138 from the people! This showed once again that the common people do help a good cause if there is collective effort. The group that collected the maximum amount was felicitated. Another significant feature of this camp was that progressive literature worth over Rs 7,000 was enthusiastically purchased by the student delegates. FOURTH DAY: JUNE 8 The ninth session was conducted by Dr Vikram Singh, all-India joint secretary of the SFI. This was on “Organisation Building.” He pinpointed the wrong tendencies which hampered organisational growth and then put forth the correct organisational practices which help in expanding the organisation. He explained the need for an organisation, the importance of mass struggles and mass membership campaigns, the building of activists through study and struggle, regular and disciplined meetings and involvement of all the members in the implementation of decisions. The tenth session was on the “Educational Scenario in Maharashtra,” a report on which was placed. This report pinpointed the issues on which struggles should be launched by the SFI in Maharashtra. After a discussion, the report was passed and it was resolved to work with its guidelines. In the eleventh and concluding session, SFI state secretary Datta Chavan reported the various decisions of the state committee meeting that was held the previous night. Leading struggles of students on burning local educational issues, holding a university level students’ convention in August, launching a statewide mass fund collection campaign from June 15 to 22, strengthening the unit committees and completing the membership drive before August 25 were the main tasks that were set by this state camp. One may note that, after fluctuating between 25,000 and 30,000 membership for the last several years, the SFI in Maharashtra had crossed the 57,000 membership mark last year and this year it has resolved to increase it further. The Mumbai committee of the SFI, helped by all other mass organisations and the Kerala People’s Education Society which runs the Aadarsh Vidyalaya, had made good arrangements for this study camp. All the volunteers of the SFI’s Mumbai district committee were felicitated by presenting them with an issue of Vidyarthi Ladha, the state level magazine of the SFI’s Maharashtra state committee. The state camp ended with the presidential speech by SFI state president Mohan Jadhav, followed by the song “We Shall Overcome.”