The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is in the news again. Students, alumni, faculty and other stakeholders have been voicing concerns over the bulldozing of nearly 400 acres of forest within the beautiful campus by the Congress-led Telangana government. The Telangana government is planning to hand over these 400 acres for corporate use which will bring an estimated revenue of Rs 10-15,000 crores.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the government has eyed the forest land allotted to UoH.
The first time I entered the Hyderabad university to submit my application, the campus – with its tall trees, the smell of the lush green surroundings and serenity – hit me. I desperately wished to study there. As fate would have it, I made it into a Master’s programme. Coming from a rural background and as a first-generation education seeker, UoH provided me with a level-playing field. I met people from different cultures, languages, socio-economic backgrounds and regions of the world.
We would listen to the same lectures, eat the same food in the mess and access the same library that opened a world of knowledge to us. We engaged in discussions over chai. Sure, many of us felt left out and insecure about engaging, but something would tell us that we were not alone and that it would be okay to bring our socio-economic disadvantages to the table.
Hyderabad university gave one that confidence. It has produced many civil servants, scientists, academics, politicians, business entrepreneurs and educators, leaving its trace across chosen lives and professions. Being a public university, it provides quality education at meagre fees. Students thus believe in paying back to society.
UoH has also encouraged freedom of thought. In my time, we were introduced to caste debates. We realised how important Dr B.R. Ambedkar was in his struggle for social justice and what his philosophy of democratic socialism means to India. We got introduced to class discourses, Marxism, neoliberalism, capitalism and the notion of how important it is to fight before handing over spaces like UoH. We became more than individuals. True to UoH’s motto – Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye – education liberated us. This is why it is important to protect UoH, not just for the institution’s sake but for our beloved country’s sake.
Following protests for a separate Telangana and to pacify the sacrifices of the youth, the then Indira Gandhi government, through an act of parliament, established UoH in 1974. The Congress-led state government allotted land of 2,300 acres. However, the title of the land was never given to UoH.
This was not the first injustice. In 2009, we protested against the then vice-chancellor, Seyed E. Hasnain, over the fact that he had handed over 200 acres of land to TIFR. We were joined by an about-to-retire university driver who served with many vice-chancellors before Hasnain. He told the gathering that the first vice-chancellor Gurbakhsh Singh had used all the money given to him to build a compound wall across these 2,300 acres allotted to the university with inlets for water and animals without disturbing the natural water bodies that would flow in and out of the campus. Indira Gandhi, our speaker said, was furious about this spending. Singh had allegedly told her of the importance of protecting land and how Hyderabad has the potential of becoming a world-class city where land would become a precious commodity. Gandhi later allotted more funds to kickstart the campus. True to the predictions of Singh, bits of land that were originally allotted to UoH were siphoned to the sports stadium, ISB, IIIT-Hyderabad, SBI and other entities. It is believed the campus is left with only 1,600 acres.
In all of Hyderabad, UoH may be the last standing ground against the onslaught of neo-liberal agenda-driven corporate urbanisation. Gachibowli is known for its natural rock formations and lakes. The campus, where we have Buffalo Lake, Peacock Lake, Sunset Point, white rocks, and mushroom rocks, is integral to the worldview that the university aims its fraternity to have. Those who couldn’t connect with other humans always found peace in nature. We used to wake up to the calls of peacocks and were accustomed to seeing spotted deer running around the campus, wild boars foraging for food and coming close to our hostel rooms, snakes, monitor lizards, mongoose, and many other flora and fauna. They made us what we are.
Retired humanities professor Mutatkar had anticipated this and always made efforts to push to declare the UoH a natural reserve with special amendments so the land will be used only for the university’s growth. Mutatkar also encouraged us to start an Environmental Action Group at UoH, to engage with the campus fraternity to educate ourselves about the need for environmental protection.
How did we go from educators, administrators and politicians who could see way ahead of time and the relevance of land for any university’s growth to those who cite revenue generation in handing over university land to fuel corporate agenda? This reflects the overall downfall of the conceptions revolving around nation-building, the rise of politics are clouded by crony capitalism, and neo-liberal agenda-driven government functioning. Monetising development is a poor way of understanding the country, its politics, and needs.
Rahul Gandhi and other politicians from the opposition had taken part in the protests in the aftermath of Rohith Vemula’s institutional murder and used the shoulders of the UoH to aim their guns at the ruling BJP government. While there is little space for opposition to the ruling government in parliament, mainstream media, and common public discourses, UoH provided space for these politicians, especially Rahul Gandhi, to amplify their voices for social justice. The same Rahul Gandhi is now silent. This reflects badly on his persona and speaks volumes about the politics he preaches.
K Laxman, BJP MP, has raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan had posted on X about meeting the delegation from Telangana MPs and assured action in this regard. Is the BJP trying to make us believe that they can only raise this issue in the upper house and post on social media about it rather than actually stop the environmental carnage?
To all the fighting students who were brutally assaulted by state police and detained for protesting against the destruction of the forest land of UoH, know that we stand firmly with you. Our hearts cry out loud at this destruction. Your fight is not just in opposing this land grab, but a much bigger one – for thousands of marginalised students who are going to come and access the quality education and free space that UoH has to offer. Know that your fight is not just to save UoH but this country.
Sipoy Sarveswar teaches anthropology at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He posts on X at @SSarveswar.
