For the love of JNU

Another draft-turned-post from my inbox, just being published today. Also, this was my fb status for the date mentioned. :)
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21.08.2014

The day I published my Convener Report. Exactly Three Years Ago.
Man! I still remember that day when a year of turbulent JNU politics had finally concluded in a peaceful report presentation. Presenting the report only a few days after my 22nd birthday, I was thrilled by the various challenges that a year-long journey had brought me face to face with. A year had seemed no less than a decade. Yet, the realization that all of that had ended finally had brought great relief to my mind. I was still struggling to get out of the 'hangover' of political upheavals faced, but the transformation that had occurred in me was beyond what words can ever describe. And that is why I say that while it is impossible for anyone who learns of JNU through cooked up stories to comprehend the dimensions of its magic, it is only through being here that one realizes how truly special this place can be. Are there challenges? Immense challenges? Undesired elements. YES. Where are they not? JNU has taught me that facing challenges is THE key to solving them. JNU, you are love.

#FourYearOfBeingAtJNU #JNUMeriJaan # OhManIAmAYearOlder

Of JNU politics

JNUSU Elections 2017!

Yaass! After days of intensive campaigning, sloganeering, accusations, recriminations and heated debates, the election journey has finally reached a sound conclusion.  The election season is now almost over in JNU. The Left Unity is now going to lead the Students' Union of JNU- JNUSU 2017-2018. It was a tough fight fought by all the parties/organization! ABVP emerged as the single largest organization on campus. I have no comments to make on the nature of the results and my hopes. The theme of this post is generic. I only wish to wish all the candidates all the very best for the upcoming academic year.

Academics is the core foundation of any University. Our hopes, aspirations and dreams are all nurtured by this wand of magic. Every bit of learning happening within the periphery of campus extends to every aspect of life of its students even in their remotest home towns when they head there during vacations. This is the magic that a University creates. JNU is a live example of how an academic arena transcends beyond boundaries to transform thoughts and ideas located in distant corners of the country. This is what makes life in JNU amazing. The same may hold true for any other academic campus which works towards transforming the lives of those who seek to do so. There is no point in graduating with added credentials on paper if the years of University training could not add to your personality, thought and ideation-capability. It all is based on the academic vigor of the University which is reflected in its curriculum, syllabus, pedagogy and teacher-student compatibility. Academics is, thus, key to the making of a successful campus life.

Having said that, it is important to acknowledge the role that student activism plays in a campus like JNU. When I say a University transforms an individual, I also signal the significance of individual willingness to undergo that transformation for it is such a willingness that acts a catalyst in the process. Student activism is a result of such a willingness only. Activism is just another sobriquet for student politics in JNU.

Activism and Academics must merge at a point if the actual goal is to be attained. When people do miss a point in this, their destination gets lost.
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PS : I wrote this piece immediately after the elections in 2017. Do not remember if this is exactly what I had in mind while beginning, but I found this draft today in my inbox and decided to conclude it by adding the last two lines.