What does a students’ union president really do?

Since his election as president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) in November 2024, Ronak Khatri has rarely been out of the news for what some view as his ‘antics’. When not smearing cow dung on the walls of a college principal’s office — after she was photographed doing the same in a classroom, ostensibly to cool it — he can be seen arguing with teachers and non-teaching staff. Why are there only a handful of clerks to cater to several thousand students? Why is there only one computer in the office of a college which boasts several thousand students?

Known on campus as 'matka man' for leading protests with large, earthen pots or matkas, Khatri hosted Rahul Gandhi last month for an interaction with a small group of students at the DUSU office. Despite being busy with exams, he carved out a few moments for a chat with Vishwadeepak. Excerpts:

You are the first DUSU president from NSUI in the last seven or eight years. What has your agenda been?

The first thing I did after getting elected was conduct a survey to understand students’ main concerns. The top issue was lack of adequate drinking water. We had raised it during the campaign, but the survey gave us the confidence to take it to the administration.

We collected data, compiled a report and submitted it to the university. The response was encouraging — DU issued a directive to all college principals. Since then, water coolers have been installed across all 90 colleges. Each needed 3–4 coolers, and we were told around 350 are either installed or in the process.

What else have you been able to do for the students?

After addressing the drinking water issue, we shifted focus to CCTV cameras. When the entire city is plastered with CCTV cameras, it made no sense to not have them on campus. Especially considering brawls, outsiders causing trouble and instances of girl students and faculty members being harassed. Within three months, DU floated a tender, and we’ve been told that 700 CCTV cameras are being installed in phase one.

We also asked for a free university special bus service to help students travel from metro stations to their colleges without having to pay for it. So far, two such buses have been approved — one for North Campus and another for South Campus.

Alongside that, we’ve been pushing for metro fare concessions for students. It’s something that’s been talked about for years, and we’ve reminded both the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the current Delhi chief minister about their earlier support for it. (Fun fact: the current CM was actually the DUSU secretary way back in 1995–96, and even the ABVP has been championing this cause.)

Now that there’s a double-engine government — BJP in both Delhi and at the Centre — it should honestly be easier than ever to finally follow through on this promise.

There were media reports about some PhD scam in DU that you had flagged. What was that all about?

It related to grievances voiced by PhD scholars, and the discrimination they claimed to have faced. Contrary to UGC rules, Delhi University had increased the weightage of PhD interviews — so much so that it ended up carrying more weight than the written test. This change in weightage was misused to select candidates arbitrarily — often favouring those with connections or jugaad over genuinely deserving ones. It was unfair, and naturally caused a lot of frustration among students.

This was one of the issues that we took up directly with Rahul Gandhiji, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Could you tell us more about the meeting with the LoP? Were only SC/ ST/ OBC students invited to meet him?

No. Students from the general category were also invited. Around 25 students met him. Every problem faced by DU students was raised. Rahulji listened carefully and assured us that he would bring them up in Parliament.

The students spoke freely about the new education policy (NEP). They discussed the PhD scam and the systematic discrimination against Dalit and OBC students. The monsoon session of Parliament starts on 22 July, and we’ve been asked to put together a detailed report before that.

What were the key points discussed regarding the NEP?

Many students believe the NEP introduced by the Modi government works against their interests. It hands excessive power to administration and supervisors, allowing teachers to fail students arbitrarily by skewing the evaluation system. We pointed out these serious loopholes to Rahulji.

Regarding the PhD scam, Rahulji confirmed that DU is flouting UGC rules. The prescribed 70:30 split — 70 marks for the written exam and 30 for the interview — is being ignored. Worse, students aren’t even told their written exam scores, only their interview marks. How fair is that?

Since these issues aren’t related to Congress–BJP rivalry, do you have the support of the ABVP in addressing them?

No, we don’t get any support from the ABVP. In fact, very often they work against the interests of the students and collude with the university administration.

Is this linked to the issue of teachers’ appointments in Delhi University? There have been allegations that individuals affiliated to the RSS and the BJP are being appointed and promoted. Is there any evidence though?

Everyone on campus knows that Delhi University is now largely run by people with RSS ties. For years now, former ABVP members and RSS workers have been getting faculty positions—that process has only sped up. It’s the same story in almost every college. These days, there’s more talk of politics on campus than academics or student issues.

Many of these teachers openly promote RSS ideology in class and even encourage students to get involved with the Sangh in some way. Some college principals don’t hide their affiliations either. Take the principal of Swami Shraddhanand College. He has openly said — multiple times and on video — that he’s from the Sangh. They are confident of support from the government and the university.

You’re often labelled a publicity seeker, a lone wolf with little visible support from students…

Criticism doesn’t affect me personally. People criticise everything; it’s part of politics both on and off campus. If we let criticism affect us, we will never be able to concentrate. I’ll keep raising issues. I’m always ready to debate with critics. When it comes to students, we’ll use every possible way to highlight their problems and get them solved. Honestly, I don’t care what people say.

Both JNU and DU make headlines, though not as often as Jamia. Why do you think the BJP keeps losing student elections in JNU, while in DU it’s so tough to beat them?

Delhi University is much larger than JNU. While JNU has about 8,000 students, DU has nearly 700,000 across regular and non-regular courses — 1.5 lakh in regular courses alone. That’s why the DU students’ union is often called the 71st constituency of the Delhi assembly. As for the ABVP, it has deep roots here. Professors get their students to vote for ABVP. They have a strong hold on the system but we beat them this time and are hopeful that we will continue to do so.

Kanhaiya Kumar, a former JNUSU president with a Left background, is now in charge of the NSUI. What kind of impact has he had so far?

We have seen many changes. Our weaknesses on the ideological front are being addressed; we have become more assertive. We are now forming units in every college and recruiting students with the potential to be office bearers in our union.