US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI8006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 008006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SCUL, ECON, IN, Indian Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: THE LEFT GROOMS A NEW GENERATION OF REFUSENIKS 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Although the growing strength of Congress 
and BJP student unions suggests that the student body has 
become more tolerant of centrist and right wing views, the 
left continues to dominate student politics at New Delhi's 
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of the country's 
pre-eminent graduate institutions.   As JNU's approximately 
5000 graduate students gear up for the November 2005 Student 
Union elections, the left remains firmly in control.  On the 
JNU campus foreign policy debates over globalization, Iran, 
and the war in Iraq, dominate student politics, and the left 
is grooming a new generation to enter the Indian political 
scene and shape future contests around the issue of what it 
sees as continued American domination.  End summary. 
 
The Kremlin on the Jumna 
------------------------ 
 
2. (U)  At its inception in 1969, Indira Gandhi hoped JNU 
would become the haven of intellectuals bent on countering 
right and left extremism and encouraging democratic 
expression.  JNU failed to fulfill its stated purpose, 
however, as the University came quickly to be dominated by 
the Indian Left, which has remained in control ever since. 
In meetings with Poloff, JNU alumni nostalgically described 
their alma mater as an utopia, where politically and 
intellectually charged students rarely wished to leave for 
the real world, a haven from traditional India, where women 
mingled with men until the wee hours of the morning, and 
students from depressed rural backgrounds were provided 
opportunities to come into their own. 
 
3.  (U) JNU professor of American Studies, K.P. Vijayalakshmi 
exclaimed to Poloff that, "Politics was our socialization, 
and that socialization bridged acute socio-economic 
divisions."  "Until 1982," she continued, "there was an 
ideological free-flow.  Each group felt it had a stake in the 
elections, and everyone got involved."  Swaran Singh, another 
alum and now a professor at the university's prestigious 
School for International Studies, proudly explained that JNU 
is the only Indian university in which the university 
"establishment" has no involvement with elections, in that 
the student body elects an election commission to conduct 
elections. 
 
Where Foreign Policy Matters 
---------------------------- 
 
4.  (U) Singh explained that rather than focusing on the 
quality of university facilities and campus store offerings, 
JNU student union leaders campaign on international issues, 
such as the war in Iraq or Indian support of Palestine.  JNU 
influences the national agenda, he contended, in that other 
universities seek to mirror JNU's democratic structure.  The 
University's intellectually dynamic students have produced 
influential leaders of national politics, journalism, and the 
civil service by virtue of their talent, rather than their 
close proximity to national politicians.  A disproportionate 
number of Indian diplomats are JNU graduates, giving the 
University a lasting impact on the country's foreign policy. 
 
 
Some Shift Away from the Left 
----------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) Professors Singh and Vijaylakshmi agreed that while 
leftist parties will continue to be strong, a diversifying 
JNU student population and the globalization of India will 
broaden the political spectrum and that a limited shift has 
already occurred.  As the recruitment of faculty broadened to 
include professors not from the left, portions of the student 
body became more centrist.  The once-dominant Communist 
student unions lost some ground to the more centrist Congress 
union, and later, in the late 1980s and 1990s, to the BJP 
union.  Swaran Singh contended that while idealism has 
permeated the campus, many of today's students take a more 
pragmatic view. 
 
Reasons for the Shift 
--------------------- 
 
6. (U)  Vijayalakshmi suggested three explanations for this 
shift.  First, elections have become cadre-based, in that 
ideology no longer brings victory, which instead goes to the 
party most able to mobilize recruiters.  Professional door to 
door campaigning has replaced informal political discussions 
in the mess halls.  Second, Indians in general have become 
fatigued with politics, are less fascinated with taking a 
political position, and feel less confident in expressing 
their beliefs.  Third, politics has become a private 
phenomenon, with voters concentrating on people rather than 
parties, personalities rather than agendas. 
 
But the Left Remains Supreme 
---------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) Both professors agreed that at the same time, the 
Left Front (LF) student unions retain their dominance at JNU 
because of the growing power and stature of the Left Front in 
national politics.  With 60-64 seats in Parliament and 
unprecedented influence over the United Progressive Alliance 
(UPA) government, the Left is able to provide greater help 
and encouragement to its supporters at JNU, encouraging 
leftist students to raise their voices to push for dramatic 
change even as campus politics diversify. 
 
Comment - Portents for the Future 
--------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU)  While growing acceptance of centrist and right wing 
student unions at JNU mirrors a countrywide shift towards 
more pragmatism and less idealism, the Left will continue to 
dominate student politics.  JNU students represent the 
broader Indian political class, as they come from all over 
India and from different economic backgrounds.  JNU student 
union politics predicted the right-wing Hindutva wave that 
would sweep national politics in the late 1990's, and 
elections in this leftist bastion could indicate that a new 
generation of Left leaders in India will use relations with 
the US, Indian foreign policy, and growing conflict over 
globalization to solidify Left party gains.  End comment. 
 
9.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) 
BLAKE