Located between Sir Syed Hall and Aftab Hall, Café-De-Phoos carries a legacy that predates the Partition and has been preserved by various owners over the years on campus. Having its name ingrained with its roof’s architectural composition, i.e., thatched hay (phoos), the café used to be a site of students’ cultural heritage. Residing on a vast campus like Aligarh, night walks become an occasional habit for students and I am no exception. Last week, while walking around the campus, I started reminiscing about canteens –oftentimes crowded with students, to which I was a regular visitor during my initial days at the University. A timespell with an evolving political environment, remarkably, rows of protests on Jinnah’s portrait in 2018 followed by the CAA-NRC movement in 2019.
On the question of student spaces, “What do these canteens even stand for except for the fact that these serve as eateries and places to loiter?” Is there any underscoring theme which seems to be ignored in the guise of mundane (not in my opinion), due to our occupation with yet to be achieved something grand?
Civil society expands itself not as a mere functional organ with a rigid objective to counterbalance the space of the political system which predominantly belongs to the state. It is also attributed as a platform which introspects the involved subjects combined with assertions which are adjusted on behalf of inputs such as demands and interests. The common people within the state express respective demands and opinions through the channels of civil society, a foundational link between the governed and governors. Instances of mass movements have emerged themselves from the bedrock of civil connectivity, diffracted yet aligned on grounds of change to reshape social discourse.
With an analogical viewpoint, similar to the significance of civil societies, university campuses foster their framework of social interactions, primarily consisting of students hailing from different backgrounds, constructs, ambitions, and desires to let their voices be heard. A student extends their formal presence from academic departments to cultural societies and informally participate in recreational activities taking place in public spaces such as lawns, gardens, and, notably, canteens.
Canteens: Mundane or grand?
Reportedly, since the administrative overhaul of the previous year, general canteens, hall canteens and faculty canteens have remained closed. Sulaiman Hall Canteen (closed since mid-2024), Central Canteen (closed since late 2023), Arts Faculty Canteen (behind Arts Faculty) including the celebrated Cafe-De-Phoos (closed since 2023) are some major shutdowns.
The spaces for canteens, on an architectural account, prove to be functional for the student traffic. It rejuvenates a lasting impact on the grounds of campus. Objectively, it mediates the space between a classroom and a hostel room, the former being too rigid and the latter being a shared space of informalism. Similar to a station or a port, it remains under perpetual motion (with students) adding vitality to the academic life. Reducing the closure of canteens, solely to an economic issue, tends to overlook the social and cultural aspects of student life.
Apart from the issues of local tenders and administrative lapses, an abandoned canteen loses its significance and along with it the functions as a social structure. Dialogues are minimized, social is sidelined and opportunities for appeals vanish. The entire landscape, however insignificant, loses its efficacy turning into a barren land of student culture.
Canteens offer an informal or personalized space of interaction among students extending to topics such as politics, contemporary issues of campus, literature, debates and everything related to the youth. The narrow reduction of canteens as public spaces only concerned with eateries and loitering fails to capture the lamenting significance of such spaces. A canteen is distinctive from any other formal body operating on campuses, it doesn’t require a bureaucratic mechanism of formal registration or membership to participate. It is a unique blend of a public grid mapped with small pockets of private spaces offering space for dialogues and activities. It also makes it more conducive to popular appeals, given the nature of canteens often crowded with constant traffic of students. For instance, the Library Canteen has been performing the role of a space for mass appeal to conduct numerous demonstrations taking place on the campus, exemplifying a spatial point of varied interest for the students
A dilemma of conflict looms on concerned bodies of students on the continuous postponement of university elections which saw multiple instances of rifts over the past few years with the University administration. A neglectful tone can be contested on the topics of student unions turned now into a legal matter, awaiting justice. In the meanwhile, the closure of canteens depicts a loss of dedicated spaces of dialogue reserved for students and the loss of these spaces demands an adamant reclaim on behalf of all the students. Furthermore, on a closer look, these minute losses of space reflect an expression of dismissal regarding student welfare rather it shapes a discourse of institution which puts students second to administrative motives.
With an interventionist approach, the administrative set-up holds the capability to engage and disengage with social structures arbitrarily as per its rationale regulating dissent and dialogue. The collective welfare of students holds less weight on the scale of participative progress defying formally elected student bodies under the predicaments of busy academic sessions and imminent conflicts within student groups. Historically unique, the prevailing conditions on the campus have made the existence of the Student Union an artefact of nostalgia, something which is to be cherished passively and not expected to be relieved actively.
Strangers during Crises
Numerous historical accounts of political movements emerging from venues of eateries have been documented from Europe to the Arab world, including India. Disenfranchising fascist powers through coffee houses became a norm of dissent for Italians. The unrest in Tahrir Square in Egypt, culminating in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak from the presidency, originated in the coffeehouses and cafes. Perceived as a spell of undemocratic affairs, the Emergency in 1975 in the entire country, which saw the criminalisation of protests, demonstrations, sloganeering, etc., was continuously resisted by cafes, in particular, the Indian Coffee House. Ideologues from various circles including communists, socialists, Congress members, and members of the RSS, came together to organize and implement strategies to agitate against the autocratic regime of Indira Gandhi. The significance of these spaces as venues for dissent and dialogue is difficult to ignore.
Aligarh Muslim University flourishes on a remarkably rich culture of active voices around the entire nation against injustice and oppression. The constant interaction of students with public spaces ensures the upkeep of student culture aligned with societal urgencies.
The prolonged absence of a cohesive student body on campus has created a void for students in terms of organization and association voluntarily. Even with the prevailing situation, in times of crises, loosely formed groups of individuals come together to stand for student causes (issues on admissions and attendance), reflecting the traditional expression of shared fraternity. Incomparable to the standards of the Student Union, these loosely defined groups fail to maintain a sustained spirit of change due to their circumstantial objectives, ultimately leading to their disbandment. Despite their shortcomings, it is admissible that these groups succeed in conjuring up student legitimacy to a substantial level.
The maligned intersection of law and governance arises when administrative actions hinder the formation of vocal student bodies (legal actions against students), and student spaces are governed arbitrarily by the authorities. On the topic of surveillance, some canteens, such as the hall canteen of Sir Syed Hall (South), have recently been equipped with cameras under the pretext of security concerns. However, upon closer examination, these actions contribute to the suspicious narrative of attempting to regulate areas designated especially for students. Similar to a Panopticon, the new additions of surveillance infringe upon the freedom to associate under the guise of security measures.
Habermas on the public sphere and tea on canteens
Jürgen Habermas, a prominent social theorist of the post-World War II era, has worked on American and European political culture extensively. He developed the concept of the ‘public sphere’, a dedicated space for discussions and deliberations for the general masses.
Thematically, the public sphere is supposed to avoid the labels of economic and family circles rather it is intended to provide inclusivity for all. With the separation of public and private realms in his theorization, private individuals are invited to engage in critical discussions about issues of public significance. He describes the ability to facilitate dialogues on topics of importance as ‘communicative power’.
In addition, prioritizing dialogue and the formulation of rhetoric among students should be alarmingly common, especially to counter the apolitical wave within the campus. As Habermas elaborates in his theory, the public sphere serves as a repository of normative claims that provide correction and notification regarding urgent societal issues. Similarly, the intersection of physical space with student dialogue practices—particularly in canteens—functions as a public sphere vis-à-vis, ‘student sphere’, culminating in the virtue of ‘communicative power’ vis-à-vis, ‘student power’. This reflects a spirit of collaboration that transcends vested interests, promoting mass appeal reform while keeping the dissent and dialogue alive.
On the topic of the artistic value of dissent, graffiti and posters of student appeal are engraved as a sign of protest from a space which is occupied by the student. Remarkably, this allows the students to express their discontent in varying situations of crises under their own decisions. Demonstrations and speeches are the two major tools of awareness for appeals. Functionally, the canteen has become a canvas of students around the universities of the nation, exemplary being the recent Jamia Millia Islamia protests which included the canteen as a site of sit-in.
Student culture at AMU or any other university rests on the principles of freedom of association and the expression of opinions and views. This culture shapes perspectives on cardinal values such as justice, liberty, and equality, reflecting broader societal norms. From academics to activism, students play a crucial role in fostering solidarity and participation in issues that affect the public sphere. It is important to note that the absence of a student union denies the formal organization of students, making it ineffective in addressing many student issues. Simultaneously, the common spaces for dialogue and dissent are at a loss, violating the inherent student culture. Students must remain vigilant to the practices of administration and external pressures, asserting their rightful existence in the assigned places and there should be a concerted effort to protest against arbitrary forces now and forever.
Ariz Hasan Usmani is a student of political science at Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh.
