Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology
Government Engineering College, Kottayam
Vellore P.O., Pampady
Phone: 999 54 87 228
sfiritunit@yahoo.co.in

Evolution

The first organized student movement in India was The Students Federation formed in 1936. True to the times, it was bound with our national movement for independence. The federation took initiative to create social awareness in the Indian student community. As a continuation of this movement, the SFI was formed on the 30 th of December 1970. Its first convention was inaugurated at the Tagore Centenary Hall, Thiruvananthapuram by Com. A. K. Gopalan. At that time, there were only 1.25 lakh members from eight states of India. From this, the membership has now swelled to 25 lakhs spread across all the states of the country. The SFI is the major student organization in such states as Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. It also plays a prominent role in the Jawaharlal University, New Delhi.

Objectives

Education is a major tool of social transformation and this is especially relevant in a country like India, where regressive forces still prevail. Proper education will be a barrier against such forces and will help to build a new society based on rationality and justice. Any student organization must evaluate its raison d'être against this background. The Students Federation of India, abbreviated SFI, is an organization of students which is ever aware of its social role. It identifies with all the progressive forces in the society and is totally committed to the ideals of independence, democracy and socialism. It includes students from all aca- demic institutions of the country - from schools and colleges, from professional institutions and research academies. On the global front, SFI is against the colonization of any country by any other country and pledges allegiance to all international peace movements.

What we fight for ...

Our fight is not against any single entity . It is against everything that threats our well built educational system. We fight against everything that are against the well being of common students. This is the main reason why each and every studen joins hands with SFI and participates in the fight directly or indirectly. SFI’s stand on the ‘self financing’ issues is a well discussed and appreciated one. We fought for what we believed in. It is absolutely true that the self financing itself is not at all a bad idea. It definitely creates more opportunities for students. But the UDF government policy was sheer monkey business. They simply bent every thing in favor of greedy managements, knowing well that the burden finally will be on top of the poor students. The movement against this policy started in all campuses, soon the fire spread to district and area centers. The final show down was at the sate level counsel centers. You might have seen the glory details in the media!. So many students were injured in the brutal police outrage. Even hand grenades were used. More unrealistic than a fancy movie! police throwing real hand grenades at a group of young students, then arresting even the deeply wounded ones – sure it happens only in Kerala.

Struggles against ambiguous court orders.

It is a known fact that the law is blind – some times we feel that the people handling it are even blinder – deaf or even ‘dump’. It is hard to believe that in so many cases, the court orders are antidemocratic and irrational. All of us firmly believe in Law, but never those who manipulate it. This is the only reason why SFI need to march to the courts shouting for justice- believing that the eyes might open. Just in case...

Study Camps

As a well organized student organization, SFI conducts study classes in various subjects at various levels each year. These include area and district level classes. Along with these, SFI conducts social study classes concentrating schools and campuses. The aim is always simple – help each and every student see the reality and to make him react to it in a proper manner.

Universities and SFI

The last place a student expects injustice is his own university –but now a days it is the other way around. Whenever the decisions from the universities are based on mere hallucinations, we are ready to show them the real picture. Truth is sometimes ugly, but turning your face against it is not going to change it. SFI is always tries to make the authorities see these facts and convince them, even though the reaction is sometimes harsh. We make sure that the improper academic decisions and backdoor appointments never take place in our universities. [ In fact there are many – for those who wonder how many!]

Campaigns against anarchy in college campuses

We know that the campuses are miniature societies. They are part of the bigger one and have some unique features of its own. Almost all social problems arise in campuses also. Even all our activities revolve around student problems; we can’t simply be indifferent to the society. SFI always work progressively to avoid the anarchy in college campuses. We handle each and every related problem, including ragging and other exploitations. We react to incidents in the society, making our voice heard – well heard.

Elections

We get the clear picture of any union when they face elections. So are us. SFI is what SFI does, and no other hot air campaigns can replace honest service. The question is whether the students accepts us and selects us - and the answer is YES and with both of their hands. Our glorious victories in school, college and university union elections shows only one thing – students know what is best for them, they also know who is with them, because we are what we does!.