All India Students' Association
Indian students organisation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The All India Students' Association (AISA) is a left-wing student organisation in India. It describes itself as "the voice of the radical students' movement" and is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation.[1] The association was previously affiliated with the IPF.[2]
Official symbol of AISA | |
 Official flag of AISA | |
| Abbreviation | AISA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 9 August 1990 |
| Type | Student organisation |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | India |
National President | Neha |
National General Secretary | Prasenjeet Kumar |
| Affiliations | Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation |
| Website | aisa.in |
It was founded in Prayagraj on 9 August 1990 with the merger of several left-wing student organisations across India. AISA has an organisational presence in several states and union territories, including Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tripura, etc.[3][4][5][6][7]
Universities
The students' association has a presence in various major institutions of higher education in India, such as Patna University,[8][9] University of Allahabad,[10] Banaras Hindu University,[11] Kumaun University,[2] Jadavpur University,[12] University of Delhi,[13] University of Lucknow,[14] Tata Institute of Social Sciences,[15][16] Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University,[17] HNB Garhwal University and Ambedkar University, Delhi, among others. A unit of AISA has also consistently won student union elections in Rikhnikhal Degree College, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, since 2017. From 2013 to 2019 AISA had significant presence in Visva-Bharati the only central university of West Bengal. Activist of AISA has led historical students movement in Visva-Bharati raising voice against gender based violence, Fee Hike, illegal suspension of students demanding campus democracy etc. AISA was the biggest student organisation of Visva-Bharati of the time with presence in more than 20 departments and institutes.
AISA has consistently won in Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union elections since 2006.[18][19][20] The victory of AISF in the 2015 JNUSU elections marked the occasion when AISA lost the presidency.[21]
Since 2013, AISA has been one of the major left forces in Delhi University Students' Union elections.[22][23][24]
Sexual misconduct allegations against members
In August 2016, a JNU PhD student filed a police complaint accusing a fellow student, AISA activist and former state president of the party, Anmol Ratan of raping her in a university hostel room, alleging he had drugged her drink and later called her repeatedly, warning her not to report the incident.[25] AISA expelled Ratan from its primary membership.[26] Ratan who had gone absconding, later surrendered to police and was remanded to judicial custody.[27] JNU students and teachers separately pressed the university administration to suspend him from campus to protect the complainant. He was suspended and declared out of bounds for the duration of the inquiry.[28] In July 2023, a Delhi court acquitted Ratan of the rape charge, giving him the benefit of the doubt.[29]
In 2022, a separate AISA activist was accused of sexually harassing a JNU student after allegedly touching her inappropriately without consent. Delhi Police registered a molestation case against him under Sections 354A/509 IPC. A group calling itself "Concerned Women of JNU" separately alleged the survivor was facing efforts to discredit her.[30]
