Shehla Rashid – The Vice President of JNU and a revolutionary educationist from Jammu and Kashmir

Presenting, Shehla Rashid – The Vice President of JNU and a revolutionary educationist from Jammu and Kashmir who has shown immense dedication in order to uplift the society and has never feared to oppose the wrong policies of the government at large.
Shehla Rashid- JNU Vice President.

Read same interview in Hindiमिलिए JNU की Vice President Shehla Rashid से, जम्मू कश्मीर से आई एक क्रांतिकारी युवती जो अपने साहस से समाज के उत्थान के लिए कार्य करती है और सरकार की गलत नीतियों का पुरज़ोर विरोध करने से भी नहीं डरती.

Aakanksha(AAPKA TIMES)– Counting your recent endeavors, you’ve tried and succeeded in keeping Baba Ramdev at an arm’s length from JNU, followed by the act to stop Yogi Adityanath in Allahabad which was well supported by JNU. Are these initiatives, a projection to oppose a particular party?
Shehla Rashid- We in no way oppose the BJP ministers. However, if the qualified teachers and scholars are affiliated to the concerned party, we do not refrain upon the invitation.
JNU is a renowned institute for higher education and its ‘Vedanta Meet’ was not a trivial meeting. Hence, inviting people who wish to propagate issues like homosexuality, referring to it as a disease and demanding a population control policy for Muslims at large, thus delivering such disdained statement in the institution would certainly mean that the institution would endorse such statements.
Been established with societies such as such as the Anti Sexual Harassment Cell and Dhanak – The Queer group that supports LGBT/ third gender, JNU supports people belonging to the queer tribe. Such controversial statements do not house a place in the institution and it’s this very fact that we successfully conveyed to the JNU management. Eventually, a mutual consent was drawn upon by Baba Ramdev and the JNU management to such sensitive issues.

Aakanksha– It’s been more that 70 odd days that you’ve been raising your demands under occupy UGC. How long do you think would it take? Do you think that your demands would ever be met?
Shehla Rashid- Expecting from the government is useless, they themselves have kneeled down before WTO. All our expectations now lie with our movement. We wish to pressurize the government by voicing out our demands. We want the NON-NET SCHOLARSHIP to be given to more students in order to make it easy for students belonging to all state universities to find a common platform at JNU.
Giving scholarships on the basis of merit to a handful of students is sheer injustice to the ones who have worked really hard to reach up to that level of qualification but lagged behind because of a few marks. Hundreds in the crowd are the ones whose parents can’t afford such heavy expenses. Scholarships are necessary. The government needs to attend to the significance of higher studies in order to develop the country.

Aakanksha – What does JNU opine about Free Basics by Facebook?
Shehla Rashid- Internet works with the help of millions of Service Providers. Free Basics by Facebook is equivalent to destroying Net Neutrality. Facebook and Reliance together, wish to rule the country and they are using people to accomplish it. Modi ji wants to digitalize every village,therefore it is the duty of the government to fulfill their dreams all by themselves, instead of backing it up by Reliance and Facebook. Reliance is already accused of corruption and scandals. Free Basics will be applied to some selected applications or websites onlywhich would limit the outreach of the selected prospect. Facebook could use this mechanism to regulate and limit the access to posts, mindscape of the poor and the internet as well.

Aakanksha-Where did you seek education from and what exactly lead you to the left wing politics?
Shehla Rashid-I studied B.Tech. from Jammu and Kashmir .I joined AISA after the painful tragedy of 16th December. I thought over it and was quite overwhelmed by it. When the nation was demanding executions, AISA was supporting women empowerment and raised its voice for the freedom of women.I was impressed by Kavita Krishan. According to me, for working out your ideologies and plans, team work is a must .A single person can turn its back but a group never ceases.So I decided to support AISA.

Aakanksha-Politics is never considered fit for girls and JNU was always on the target .Did you ever feel any sort of danger inside or outside the campus?
Shehla Rashid-ABVP does that quite often, they want their publicity. Due to this, they often turn invasive and offensive.People have their own ideologies, some differences do exist but we should not let those differences and political feelings take a toll on us and allow them to come up in the form ofviolence against our own classmates.

Aakanksha- Were your parents happy with your decision to opt politics?Where do you see yourself in the next 6-7 years?
Shehla Rashid-My parents were always against this move. They’ve probably now understood the necessity of time They might have been dubious but today they support me. Even if they don’t affirm to it, I don’t get to witness a denial either. I would continue my interest in education and politics. We don’t run after greed, instead we fight the battle for change. I won’t mind if I get a chance to contest for the post of an MP/MLA.We will continue to fight against the injustice caused to common people .We always focus on the ground work and victory is rewarded to us . People from DU also seen, standing up in support of our initiatives since they too appreciate our work. Endeavors to continue working for the accession of society and women would be on roll.

Aakanksha- How does Shehla, a lady always seen in her revolutionary colors like to spend her free time?A movie with her friends or gossip with her parents?
Shehla Rashid- I hardly get enough time to do so. We don’t call it work or burden .During our fights or struggles we often make use of skits, songs, debates etc. as entertainment and this keeps the fire to bring a change, alive in our hearts .This inspires me a lot and the time simply passes with comrades.

Aakanksha- Will you like to give any message to our readers?
Shehla Rashid-None of us should rely blindly on others. We should question everyone,even if it is us. Modi Ji ensures development but in which field and what sort? Awakening and keeping an eye on things that are happening around us makes us a responsible citizen of the country.

Read same interview in Hindiमिलिए JNU की Vice President Shehla Rashid से, जम्मू कश्मीर से आई एक क्रांतिकारी युवती जो अपने साहस से समाज के उत्थान के लिए कार्य करती है और सरकार की गलत नीतियों का पुरज़ोर विरोध करने से भी नहीं डरती.

 

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