"Youth Fights Colonialism "

This is the name of a regular publication of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and the title of one of its departments in its headquarters. As one reads through the issues of this publication one gets a deeper insight into the fact, assiduously played down in our daily press, the Asia's colonial people are stirring from their slumber and that students and young people are in the lead in the upheaval. The aspirations of millions for education, culture, even food and housing, and for national independence as a basis to secure these things, is being vigorously supported by the WFDY. and not without success.

In Asia in the past, the youth movement, and in particular the student movement, has played an important role in the general movement for national liberation.

The student movement reached varying degrees of development in different countries, corresponding to the level of development of the struggle for independence in these countries. It ranged from the mighty student movement of China. 7,000,000 "strong in the Kuomintang areas alone, to the still weak student organisations of Malaya.

In the early period of the liberation movement it was natural that the student movement should be in the forefront of the struggle, not only as far as the youth is concerned but in relation to the entire struggle. They had the necessary degree of education to enable them to organise, to give leadership.

But this condition was changed in the course of the anti-Fascist war. The necessity to fight, to mobilise more and more people into the anti-Japanese armies, meant especially the activisation and organisation of large masses of young people, peasants and workers, and the birth of a youth movement of the working class and peasants.

Such organisations developed as the mighty 2,000,000 strong organisation of Viet Nam organised as an integral pan or the Peoples Front of Viet Nam. In Indonesia, a federation of 17 youth organisations, differing widely in type, stood in the forefront of the armed struggle against the Dutch forces. In Malaya, in 1946. from the Anti-Fascist People's Army was formed the Malayan New Democratic Youth League of 23,000 members in a country of 3,000,000 total population. In India alone, no definite movement of the youth developed. Organisation remained confined entirely to students.

Sell-out and Confusion

The war years were thus characterised by a rapid growth of organisation. The recent post-war period however saw these organisations caught in a bog of confusion. In Malaya, for example, they had no real realisation that Britain would return to continue domination, but believed that she would band out independence in her big-hearted imperialist way!

In Indonesia, the conclusion of the Renville Agreement had the effect of sowing bewilderment among the ranks of the youth. They could not understand how people like Hatta could sell out their country and their people. These youth, who had displayed such heroism in the front lines, made onslaughts on illiteracy, tackled the development of industry, in fact, set about the building of the Republic of Indonesia, were bewildered, confused and dismayed at the actions of their Government, and were seeking explanations to justify these actions. But while this was so, while the youth were confused and bewildered and badly advised, life itself quickly began to teach them the rottenness of the policy they had been advised to pursue.

In Indonesia, the youth found that "cease-fire" orders meant nothing to the Dutch. It didn't remove the blockade of Dutch ships around the Indonesian Islands. It didn't prevent the delegates to the South-East Asian Youth Conference being first jailed and then torpedoed before they finally reached Calcutta.

In India and Burma, the "new order" didn't find jobs for the students leaving school. It didn't find land for the young peasants. It didn't provide elementary education for children in a country where illiteracy is over 90 per cent. It didn't increase pay for young workers, who receive an average wage of £7 per month—a princely sum! It didn't abolish child labour in the factories and the infamous tea plantations of Assam. It didn't give the workers houses instead of pigstyes, where the people live in indescribable conditions of filth and insanitary conditions. It didn't give them rice in a country where the head of the State. Nehru, told a deputation of housewives that he also had to buy on the blackmarket in order to live.

Opposition

It didn't stop the setting-up of stooge organisations of trade Unions, women and youths. It did not decrease the oppression. On Viet Nam Day the "Independent" students of India demonstrated in solidarity with their Vietnamese brothers and had to fight a six-hour battle with the police in which several students were shot. In January, 1948. the National Conference of The All-India Students' Hederation, equivalent to our NZUSA. was banned at the last moment and when they went ahead despite the ban they were attacked with a this, tear gas and bullets, leading to six delegates being wounded and 600 with their skins burnt with tear gas. This was the crime which called forth an official protest from our Students' Association Executive, Later in the year, at the end of June, and the beginning of July, hundreds of the officers of the central and provincial Indian Students' Federations were arrested. In some Provinces this had occurred earlier. For instance, in the United Provinces, in September, 1947, 700 students were arrested, students as young as 10 and 12 being kept in solitary confinement and caned in prison. Often no charges were preferred. On July 16th, 1948. when Nehru was asked by student demonstrators about the various Public Security Acts and the repeal of the right to Habeas Corpus petition, he replied: "Is that a really fundamental right of human beings'?" Geeta Mukherjee, Working Committee member of the A1SF. is typical of hundreds, being arrested without trial for keeping "close contnets with the WFDY and the IUS."

The South-East Asian Youth Conference itself expressed the sharpening of the situation. There was great bitterness by the progressive youth at the sell-out, but also desperate efforts by the reactionary student leaders in India to prevent the success of the Conference. The Conference was characterised by disruption and confusion in the initial stages, and when this failed to split the unity of the vast majority of organisations present, the opposition in desperation launched armed attacks against the Conference delegates.

Organisation

These vast struggles for freedom and a better life are going on all over Asia, ranging from full-scale war, in China. Viet-Nam, and Indonesia, to smaller-scale war in Burma. Malaya. Hyderabad and a few other parts of India, and bitter struggles against repression in the rest of India and in Southern Korea. One couldn't help feeling that while our Association" in VUC sat and talked about whether we would remain affiliated to the WFDY, scoring talking points like a parlour debate, the students and young peasants of Asia were fighting a grim struggle of life and death against prisons and lathis for the elementary right to even form a students' association or a Kisan Saw (Peasants' Union).

In support of the voung people of Asia the WFDY has declared the 21st February a Day of Solidarity with the Youth Fighting Colonialism. All over the world, meetings, exhibitions, articles in the student and youth press, demonstrations, etc.. were held around that day on these questions. This day has already a tradition of struggle for freedom. On February 21st. 1946. there was the national uprising throughout India, led by the Indian Navymen. On February 21st. 1947, occurred the vast demonstrations in Egypt to obtain the withdrawal of British troops from that country. On the same day of 1948 was held the great Conference of the Youth of S.E. Asia which was an historic event in the history of colonial struggles.