POLITICAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND VIOLENCE AMONG EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

iolence crept into Pakistani educational institutions owing to the deep-rooted rivalry among political student organizations. Twin cities- Rawalpindi and Islamabad- had witnessed many gory scenes in its educational institutions in the past. However, the changing academic environment owing to mushrooming of private sector of education coupled with socio-political exigencies helped transform these organizations. A few examples can be found in the history where student politics played a remarkable role to encourage the development of civil society, to train their members for political activity and to promote appropriate ideas among the youth. Theories of “Rational choice” and “Bounded Rationality” were employed to explain the dynamics of student politics. Four political student organizations were included in this study with the sample of 120 respondents. Almost thirty members of each student organization filled the questionnaire. Despite the confrontational policy of these organizations vis-à-vis their counterpart organizations and administration, an attitudinal change was observed due to the eroding support for the hardliners within these organizations. This study revealed that the ideology had given way to interest-based politics. Student organizations seemed to be in quest of resolving their identity crises through the peaceful political activities and demonstrations. The study found that the females also actively participated in these student organizations.