Condemn the brutal murder of comrade Siya Guleria in HP, ensure safety of female students across the nation

SFI strongly condemns the brutal murder of comrade Sia Guleria, an SFI activist in Himachal Pradesh and demands an immediate probe into the issue. Com. Siya Guleria, 19 year old BBA student was murdered in broad daylight on her way to the college. Two men who followed her on a bike attacked her using weapons further resulting in her death. The culprits identified were under the influence of drugs and are noted as addicts. This incident paints a clear picture of the inefficiency of the Congress government in HP that promised the safety of women travelers in loud words while failing to protect their own citizens. The rising influence of drugs among youngsters cannot be seen in isolation, rather as an issue directly linked to a broad nexus of mafia, dealers and the ruling class.

The last report released by National Crime Records Bureau reveals an alarming rise in the number of crimes committed against women in India over the last decade. Although there's an absence of data since 2022, the recent issues of rape, murder and harassments of girl students across the nation translates to a condition of growing hostility that challenges the survival and progress of women in public, institutional and domestic spaces. The systemic failure of the respective governments in adopting a creative approach towards education and generating employment opportunities have pushed the youngsters into the dark pit of drug abuse and other unethical activities. Additionally, the ongoing tendency of the Manuwadi ideas misleading society into a regressive and primitive way of interacting with women and marginalised has deeply impacted the life of women in India. The central government and state governments led by Congress/BJP has loosened the legal framework in favour of the perpetrators, further isolating women from achieving education, employment and progress in the society.

This tendency must fall and there must be active measures to ensure the safety of girl students. We demand justice for Com. Siya by conducting an active probe into the issue and ensuring ideal and strict punishments for the criminals. We stand in protest against the crimes against girl students and call for an organised intervention to make our campuses and public spaces peaceful, healthy and safe for everyone.

Released by
Adarsh M. Saji (President, SFI)
Srijan Bhattacharyya (General Secretary, SFI)