We cannot be beaten into submission: Neha Bora rallies Left at Jadavpur

• AISA president Neha Bora calls for student solidarity over protests at SRFTI and in Delhi.

• Bora targets BJP-RSS over alleged intimidation and opposes SIR in Bengal.

• Jadavpur convention demands scrapping NEP 2020 and withdrawal of NTA, SIR and ISI-related Bills.

“We have to express solidarity among ourselves and strengthen our resistance every day,” AISA president Neha Bora told a packed gathering at Jadavpur University on Monday, 5 October, referring to the unrest at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and the protests in Delhi.

“One night you have to fight the radical forces at SRFTI and then come here the next day and express solidarity,” Bora said at the convention on 'Gen-Z Movement: Unity of Generation and Resistance', organised by Left-wing student groups. 

Taking aim at RSS and BJP who she described as trying to intimidate protesters into submission, Bora said, “Some people are very proud of their power today and feel that they can beat us to bring us to our knees. They think they can beat us at Jantar Mantar, Jadavpur University and SRFTI to bring us into submission. 

“But they do not understand that the people who are associated with the movements come from Left ideology and they cannot be brought into submission by any means. If anyone has ever in history tried to beat us into submission, we have shown them what people’s power looks like.”

Bora invoked the international history of the Left, saying, “The legacy of the Left comes from Vietnam, Cuba, Iran and Latin America. We can never be beaten into submission.” She added that fascists across the world had been shown “what the Leftists can do” when popular movements challenged those in power.

Turning specifically to Bengal, Bora attacked the BJP over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. “They want to rule Bengal with an iron fist and hence they have crafted SIR for Bengal,” she said. “Democracy is not abstract but a promise from the panchayat level to the top central positions that common people will decide through a very powerful system called vote. BJP has robbed us of yourbasic voting rights. We promise that we will not allow you to destroy our democracy.” 

She argued that Bengal had a wider responsibility in resisting what she described as an assault on democratic institutions. “Bengal has always shown leadership and made way for several revolutions and movements in the country. They want to silence Bengal, which is impossible,” she said.

Bora also alleged that the BJP and RSS had used intimidation and violence against opponents. “Soon after coming to power, several mob lynchings took place, houses were bulldozed,” she said, while referring to attacks on students and political protesters. “The war they have raged against the people of the country has reached Bengal. It is upon Bengal to defend not just itself but the entire democracy that we are proud of.” 

Her speech came as the convention, attended by far more people than the 220–230 capacity of Jadavpur’s K.P. Basu Memorial Hall, spilled into the area in front of the university's Gandhi Bhavan. Speakers included Afrin Shilpi, secretary of the university’s researchers’ association, and SRFTI student Shubham. The gathering raised demands including scrapping the National Education Policy 2020 and withdrawing the NTA, SIR and ISI-related Bills, besides backing the 'Save Schools, Save Education' campaign.

The event, however, triggered objections from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The student organisation emailed university authorities questioning how Bora, an outside political figure, had been allowed to participate on campus. 

The university’s registrar Debjit Dutta subsequently informed vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya that he had not authorised the event. According to Dutta, he learnt about the programme through the media and “was completely unaware of it prior to that”. A permission document addressed to the registrar was reportedly signed by the joint registrar instead. 

Left activists and supporters escorted Bora from Kolkata airport to Jadavpur amid concerns over possible protests by right-wing groups. The programme was eventually shifted outdoors because of the huge turnout.

On Tuesday, Bora is expected to appear alongside CPI(ML) general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya at the Binoy Chowdhury Hall in Harekrishna Konar Bhavan, the office of the Krishak Sabha, for a media interaction on the national political situation and the strategy of the INDIA alliance.