– Dr. Yahya Khan
For a revolution of any kind to take place, the first and foremost prerequisite is an idea of change. An idea which provides a rational criticism of the system in place and a better alternative to the same, what follows is its execution. For its execution what is required is proper propagation of the idea among masses which becomes easy if the idea proposed can communicate and convince the people of its purpose and the heavenly end that follows. The more solid the foundation, the stronger the revolution which is measured by the extent of penetration in society, the effect, and the time for which it lasts independent of the fact whether it is successful or not. For this, the idea must be accepted by the academics of the day first, since these are the people who will either be a huge hurdle critical of the newly devised plan or will be instrumental in helping the cause.
Universities and colleges are the places where you find young minds developing, critical thinking encouraged, new trends accepted or rejected, and if not given proper nourishing can become a disaster for any nation, hence the greatest fear of any dictator is these places. Saying this, universities and colleges can be categorized into three. The first being those colleges and campuses which are government sponsored. These institutes have a clear agenda to further strengthen the position of the status quo academically and battle any sorts of criticism which come their way. The second ones are those inert campuses which are either least bothered to cater the students to their academic needs or worse make them ideologically handicapped so that all that matters are their basal self.
In today’s society, we can rarely find campuses that foster and promote critical thinking and student activism
Now both these categories of campuses are welcomed and encouraged by the system as the system isn’t threatened by the end products these institutions provide. These are either protectors of their regimes or slaves to basal desires which do not go beyond delicious food, clothes, and sexual fantasies, all culminating in an extravagant lifestyle. The third variety of the campuses are a great threat to the existing system, just imagine the potential of a place where minds are trained to challenge, question policies and recommendations pertaining to masses, where students find themselves responsible for people who cannot comprehend the slavery and wrong that have been done to them. These educational institutions are generally under high scrutiny of the government and under rather strict administration to control the activities of the students, seeing to it that no idea erupts which can take form of a revolution.
India, which is a house to many universities and campuses, failed to produce institutions of the third category and as a matter of fact this is true to all underdeveloped or developing countries. While there can be many reasons for this and is a point of academic discussion, colonial rule and no independent identity as a nation could be some of them. With the advent of ‘e-education’ the scenario seems even more complicated with a question on virtual education itself.
Now there are several examples of revolutions with their birthplace in universities, led by students awakening the masses to the effect of toppling the status quo. The most recent being the revolution that took place in Bangladesh and the most prominent being the Iranian revolution of 1979. India has also witnessed its share of contribution from Universities, JNU which has been in news for its anti-fascist and pro-communist position, JMI for its vocal opposition on the policies of government regarding the Muslims, the more distant AMU as being a propagator of the idea of two nation theory and of course the mutiny of 1857 against the British was again an idea proposed in Islamic institutions or madrasa.
Islam has always focused on the aspect of individual and collective change through education rather than narrowing it down for material sustenance purposes
Islamic revolution from the first day itself focuses on collective education and intellectual training such that even in Makkan period we have Darul Arqam where the Prophet (PBUH) would teach the companions the idea of Tawheed which formed the basis of this revolution, challenging each aspect of the society. A revolution led by the best teacher who himself proclaimed ‘ana muallim’ and by best of the students. In Madinah too the platform of Suffah was developed for collective education. The Ummah and followers of the Prophet held this aspect of Seerah in such a great esteem that the credit of the first modern degree granting University is widely considered to be university of al Qaraiyin in Morocco formed by a Muslim woman.
In conclusion universities and campuses were supposed to be places of developing minds which challenge the trends, encourage innovation, and promote a healthy atmosphere for all discussions to happen. Students are perfect candidates to accept truth if properly propagated and if finding themselves in a conducive environment can cause havoc. For an Islamic revolution too, institutions where freedom to express ideas are allowed, Islam as a way of life must be advocated for the only system which has the solution to humanity in its real sense as opposed to all other existing or emerging systems which must be criticized rationally. Students and teachers alike who are well versed with this subject matter must dedicate themselves to giving Dawah and have this intention to try to organize students for a revolution through universities.
