THE Coimbatore Police Commissioner, Amalraj, has, in an interview, portrayed the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) as anti-socials for participating in the heroic and peaceful struggle organised by students and youth of Tamil Nadu for Jallikattu. He has also threatened to take action if prior permission is not taken to send across any messages. The Chennai City Commissioner, George has also termed the youth who took part in the struggle for Jallikattu as anti-nationals and anti-socials. This has created a huge outrage among the students and the youth in Tamil Nadu. There is also widespread condemnation in social media and political circles. 

Amalraj and George can justify their speeches as police force is known to be a repressive tool of the ruling class. They are predators. What they know is only to jail, beat, gun down and burn. People’s upsurge has unnerved the rulers and their cohorts to a great extent and that is why they portray protestors as anti-socials and and anti-nationals. How can they be expected to be aware of the heroic struggles and unmatched sacrifice of the youth of Democratic Youth Federation of India? 

The young comrades of DYFI laid down their lives for protecting the unity and integrity of the country by standing up against Khalistanis in Punjab. Hundreds of DYFI comrades including   Gurnam Singh Uppal, Sohan Singh Deshi were murdered by the Khalistan extremists in Punjab for fighting for the unity of the country. The same DYFI fought uncompromisingly against the militancy of ULFA and Bodo in Assam and also against Kashmir separatists and lost hundreds of its valuable cadres. When Bakreshwar Power Project was brought in by the Left government in West Bengal, the then central government refused to support it financially. It was lakhs of DYFI comrades who collected fund for the project by donating blood. Lifesaving blood was donated to mobilise fund for the   Bakreshwar Project by the DYFI volunteers.

There is a long list of such great sacrifices by the DYFI volunteers across the country.  Education for All, Job for all is the democratic slogan of DYFI. DYFI organised a cycle rally in 1977 demanding compensation every month for jobless youth of Tamil Nadu. Only after the huge rally did the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M G Ramachandran announced the relief. 

A Blood Bank was started in 1986 by DYFI on March 26, Bhagat Singh’s birthday. Till today the Blood Bank functions without any interruption and it has received many awards for organising blood donation camps. When giving blood was seen as health risk in those days and many would not venture to donate their blood, it was the DYFI that helped in organising such camps by giving confidence to the youth. It was the DYFI cadre who gave blood to hundreds of policemen and their families. Perhaps Amalraj or George may not know this fact.

In 1995, on February 7, DYFI organised AIDS Awareness and Drug Abuse programme in Chennai. A seminar was conducted in Kamarajar Arangam and 3000 youngsters took oath before a sitting judge of the Madras High Court not to take drugs. In fact, a big marathon was planned by the DYFI to create awareness against drug menace. But the police refused permission under the pretext of traffic jams. Since the judge requested the DYFI to avoid the marathon, DYFI had instead organised the oath taking programme. Tell us now whether our youth organisation which respected and still respects law is an anti social organisation?

At a time when education was deprived to lakhs of children living in slums, it was the DYFI which organised night classes in more than 60 places in Chennai city. The police then ridiculed the idea and advised DYFI not to take such classes as they would not attend such classes. But DYFI doggedly pursued it. After seeing the success of the whole programme, the local police praised DYFI''s efforts and said but for DYFI efforts the village would not have developed. How can the lathi wielding Amalraj know about it?

It was the DYFI in 1992 that demanded solution for unemployment in Tamil Nadu and development of industries. Its volunteers went to each and every village starting from Kanyakumari and Coimbatore, meeting lakhs of people covering 2500 kilometres. In the same year when the Jayalalithaa government increased bus fares, DYFI organised massive demonstrations across Tamil Nadu. Thousands of cadres went to jail. They celebrated Deepavali only in jails. Jayalalithaa government reduced the fares bowing to the struggle. More than 60,000 volunteers went to jail in 1994 for burning the copies of the government notification seeking ban on job recruitment. It was a political movement with a social cause. DYFI also took up the cause of environment by planting 4000 trees in Chennai as a measure of protecting the earth from the hole in ozone layer. It has never been the practice of DYFI to stop with just preaching. 

Apart from conducting various eye donation awareness programmes, 1200 DYFI volunteers filled up forms for donating their eyes in 1994 and handed over them to government officials at a function held in Teacher Training Institute, Saidapet, Chennai.

In the same year when there was a flood in Vaigai river in Madurai, slush went inside all homes in Meenakshipuram and the people had to leave their homes and stand outside, little knowing what to do. It was the DYFI volunteers who tirelessly worked for 15 days and removed all the slush and cleaned the homes and helped the people to get back to their homes. The men in khaki cannot be knowing these facts.

The DYFI waged relentless struggle against illicit liquor in Cuddalore. Two DYFI volunteers Kumar and Anandan were murdered by anti-socials. The incident happened just a kilometre away from the SP office. It was Shailendra Babu who was SP then. It is everybody’s secret who the police department under the SP favoured.

When the DYFI and SFI jointly launched struggle demanding the government to take over Ramachandra Medical College Hospital, they face repression from the police. The comrades were jailed. But, the government acceded to the demand and took over the hospital. It is a different story that it was handed over to Udayar.

In the struggle for people’s unity, DYFI cadres have faced the wrath of anti-socials throughout Tamil Nadu. In this uncompromising struggle, Virudhunagar Chandru, Vyasarpadi Raju, Mandapam Muthu, Nellai VK Puram Kumar, Kumari, Sudhakar, Arumanai have lost their dear lives. It is not for their personal benefits but for people’s cause that they fought for and laid down their lives.

DYFI also celebrates Pongal Vizha in Tamil Nadu. During the period it conducts competition among students, youth and the people living in huts. It also conducts various entertainment programmes for the people. When Tsunami struck, DYFI cadres were in the forefront rehabilitating the people. In the Chennai coast, from Cuddalore to Nagappattinam and to Kanyakumari, hundreds of people marooned. DYFI members swung in to action and brought out so many bodies.

When the people of Chennai were reeling under devastating floods in December 2015, DYFI entered in a massive way and took up relief measures like rehabilitation and giving medical aid and food packets to the people in various localities of Chennai. Even when their homes were devastated, DYFI volunteers made huge sacrifices to help out people affected by the floods. Even where the police and other government departments were hesitant to enter, DYFI cadres, without minding risk to their lives saved lives of so many people.

Are our students and youth who are part and parcel of the cultural, social and political spheres and who stand by the people when they face problems, anti-socials and anti-nationals? The saffron brigade wants to stamp all people’s movements as anti-national.