A poetry session organised by AISA was cancelled on the ground that its sponsors were ideologically inclined towards the communist party. But research scholars and professors who are part of the RSS are free to engage in propaganda and influence students even during classes. Half my batchmates are from rural areas and many of them were forced to buy smartphones to attend online lectures. But not everyone has access to a proper network connection. The university doesn’t even acknowledge that these are problems faced by the students. The government boasts of supplying food ration to people during the lockdowns. But what about education, health, hygiene, electricity, water, cooking gas, fuel prices? How can a family afford to refill their gas cylinders? Why are fuel and gas prices so high when prices of crude oil are low globally? In the UP of my dreams, there’ll be a limit on how many air conditioners a house can have; doctors will not shy away from posting in villages; children in Varanasi wouldn’t be forced to cremate bodies to afford a meal. Potholes will not be filled up only during VIP visits. Children will be found in schools, not vending ware at street crossings; 80% of the funds for a project won’t be spent on advertisements. In my UP, the law will be for everyone; youth will not be heard reflecting, “Padh ke kya karenge? Naukri toh hai nahi.” I dream of an Uttar Pradesh without caste and religious discrimination. (Views are personal)(As told to Garima Sadhwani)This was first published in National Herald on Sunday
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