Osmania University gave me ammo to fight for right: M Kodandaram

Hyderabad: Telangana JAC Chairman Prof M Kodandaram, an educationist and political activist, is a soft-spoken academic. He says that but for Osmania University, he would not have got the kind of identity he now has. “It has opened the door of knowledge for me. ''Whatever I have achieved in my life today it is because of the support of University,'' said Kodandaram Talking to The Hans India on the occasion of centenary celebrations, Prof Kodandaram recalled his association with and the experiences in the University, which, he said, has given vital knowledge about society.

He said he began his student life in 1975 during Emergency. ''The Emergency imposed on the country was fresh in our minds. There was no freedom of speech, no freedom to organise meetings, no students activity, there was censorship on media,'' said Prof Kodandaram. He said that by the end of the course, they got good exposure. ''We campaigned for Janata Party. With our experiences during the Emergency we decided to work for the rights of the people. The status the University had given was support to fight for democracy and the same continued wherever we went like JNU or the Central University,'' Prof Kodandaram said.

He completed his M.Phil in political science in 1980 and returned to the state and joined Hyderabad Central University as a research scholar. However, within a few months, he returned to join Osmania University where he was appointed as a lecturer in political science. He finally obtained his doctorate from OU in 2003 Remembering those days, Prof Kodandaram said the University helped him fight for Human Rights. ''Without Osmania University I don’t think I would have achieved what I did,' 'he said.Prof Kodandaram, who is now the chief of Telangana Joint Action Committee, said the University gave him good exposure, in depth knowledge and the courage and conviction.

At a time when the countries in the world had military regime and dictatorship, India was looked upon as one of the biggest democracies in the world. ''We were completely shocked when emergency was imposed on the country. Our main concern was why such an extreme step was taken.'' Recalling an incident, Prof Kodandaram said during emergency days the students were not allowed to have meetings.

''We used to have meetings in hostel rooms but there were restrictions. Then we as a group convened a meeting in hostel mess. The warden objected stating that there cannot be a meeting without the warden. We were shocked... we had to be very careful those days lest police would have throw us behind the bars.” He also recalled a lecture on democracy by Prof Waheebuddin Khan and said it had opened the doors for them and gave them the inspiration to fight against the emergency. Prof Kodandaram also recalled his association with the Telangana movement which began from the University.

By K Chandrashekar