The Hindu : New Delhi News : An American out to make history of sorts at JNU

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Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006
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An American out to make history of sorts at JNU

Staff Reporter

T.W. Williams contesting for vice-president

NEW DELHI: In a campus that is known to be sensitive about America and its "neo-colonial'' policies, an American student contesting in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) elections always makes news. While Tyler Walker Williams, who is part of the All-India Students' Association (AISA), was elected a councillor last year, this time he is making history of sorts by being the first foreign student to ever contest for the vice-president on the central panel.

"I think this one year as councillor was a good warm-up for the central panel," he says. "Mona Das and I were the only ones to represent AISA and so we had to make our voices louder to be heard to defend our constituency. I don't think it is not that different to fight as councillor and for the central panel. You have many more issues to represent on the campus. There is more work to be done in the central panel."

An M. Phil student in Hindi, he might be able to speak the language fluently, but politics being "different" on this campus, it is often tricky business. And he would need more than just good communication skills to win.

"There has been an overwhelming response by students. Foreigners are not seen as outsiders. Although journalists have often questioned whether my identity as an American will have any bearing on the elections, students have supported me. Polls show that people in America are anti-war, too, in which case we have more to bond about than differ. Students are not anti-American, they are just against American policies in some cases," he says.

One of JNU's traditional parties with a considerable support base, AISA will not have its crowd-puller Mona Das running for elections this time. Ms. Das has won the post of JNUSU president twice in a row.

However, Williams feels that this will not be a problem. "We're not a party of personalities. We bring out leaders who are committed and intelligent. I think this year AISA has the strongest panel it has put up for a while."

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