‘Need to hear every student’: Rahul asks for feedback before Indore ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 10 September announced that the fifth edition of his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ initiative will be held in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on 19 September, saying the voice of every student must be heard to change the education system.

Gandhi has held four ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ events in Kota, Dehradun, Prayagraj and Pune. The last, held in Pune on 22 August, was focused on girl students.

The Indore edition has already generated a substantial response, with the Congress claiming that tens of thousands of students have registered. The party said more than 75,000 registrations had been received by 7 September, with the figure crossing 1 lakh a day later. The event is aimed at mobilising around 50,000 students from Indore and neighbouring areas.

The event, however, has faced a familiar administrative hurdle. It was originally scheduled for 12 September at Indore's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, but the state government denied permission for the venue, prompting the Congress to postpone it to 19 September. The stadium, under the Indore Municipal Corporation, is governed by restrictions on its use, with the civic authorities saying it can be used for sporting activities or state-level government programmes.

The Congress has since proposed alternative venues, including an IDA ground, while the district administration and the party have differed over whether a formal application for the venue had been submitted. As of 8 September, the final venue had still not been settled.

The venue uncertainty is not entirely new for the campaign. In Prayagraj, permission granted by the venue provider was withdrawn shortly before the scheduled event, while the Pune edition received police clearance subject to 30 conditions.

In a video post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, 'My dear students, youth and India's Gen Z, the entire country is watching with you as today a broken education system has extinguished the flame of your hopes and pushed your future into darkness. Through Chhatron ki Goonj, I am meeting you in different cities to understand your challenges. As part of this campaign, on 19 September, I will once again be among you in Indore.'

He said hearing students’ experiences, concerns and opinions from across the country was essential to changing the system. 'Go to the link below and tell us — what is stopping you from achieving your dreams? You can also reach us by making a video. Your problems. Your suggestions. Together, we will bring hope back,' Gandhi said, sharing a link for students to send their feedback.

In the video accompanying the post, Gandhi said the idea behind ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ was to listen to what students and the country felt and provide students with a platform to express themselves. 'The objective of the Chhatron ki Goonj programme is to keep before the country your thoughts, expression and fears. And also raise the issues that our students want raised,' he said.

He said the initiative sought to amplify the concerns of students across the country, including tribal students and those facing hunger strikes, building collapses and other hardships. 'The truth is that the students have lost faith in the education system,' Gandhi said.

'We want you to tell us your thoughts about the education system. It can be the exam system, it can be the type of pressure it puts you under, it can be hostels, accommodation... we want to hear from you what it is that makes you lose hope in our education system,' he said.

With PTI inputs