Introduction
Across the world today, students and youth are coming out into the streets against the prevailing order based on anti-people policies and imperialist aggression, Their voices resound with the chant that ‘Another World is possible’.
AISA is a revolutionary students movement which stands firmly in the campuses throughout the country with a vision of “A New India and A New World.’ The formation of AISA in 1990 was the result of a long felt need for a platform for the revolutionary and democratic students movement. From the outset, it has defeated the communal politics in its bastions at Kumaon University, Allahabad University, and BHU. And in the Student union elections in JNU, AISA has over the years marched forward with the revolutionary red flag. In the years that followed, AISA has been at the forefront of all struggles for student rights as well as larger democratic issues. The founding conference of AISA was on 9th August, Kranti Divas, at Allahabad. The second national conference was held in Delhi in 1994, the third in 1998 at Patna, the fourth in Allahabad (2001), the fifth in Calcutta (2004), and the sixth has recently concluded at Muzaffarpur.
Since its inception, AISA has mobilized the student community across campuses on issues such as opposing fee hikes, against the package of commercialization of education and the anti-student recommendations of Knowledge Commission, against the BJP’s communal-fascist politics and Congress’s anti-people economic policies. We have stood for declaring education and employment as basic rights and have opposed the attack on campus democracy and student rights in the name of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. We have spoken out and agitated against political surrender to the anti-people economic policies and American imperialism. In all these ways, AISA has redefined the student movement.
It was fighting for these ideals and against the criminalization of politics that AISA’s prominent leader and two-time JNUSU president, Comrade Chandrasekhar was martyred in the Siwan district of Bihar. AISA is committed to carrying forward the revolutionary legacy of Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar and our journey will not stop at any cost, not without achieving our destination — the Revolutionary transformation of society. We give voice to student’s creative energy through processions, demonstrations, seminars, street plays, film shows and revolutionary songs on various issues of our times. We appeal you all to come with us and participate in all these activities and play a significant role in transforming society.