KOZHIKODE: Three young leaders of the district, despite all their political differences, share a warm relationship.Mohammed Riyaz, Najeeb Kanthapuram and Adam Mulsi- the present chiefs of Kozhikode district units of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Muslim Youth League and Youth Congress respectively - fine-tuned their political career at the Farook College, here. While Riyaz and Najeeb were college mates in mid-1990s, Adam Mulsi was a few years junior to them. They were the executive members of the Calicut University Union representing SFI, MSF and KSU respectively.On Saturday, under the shade of a badam tree on the Kozhikode Beach, the trio went down the memory lane. “On the campus, I was more of an intellectual kind of politician and often kept away from clashes and lathicharges. But, lathicharges and clashes were never a problem for Riyaz. Often, there were heated exchanges between us over various issues. But, they have never affected our personal relations till now,” Najeeb unfolded the campus memories.“Najeeb was in the forefront of the UDF’s campaign in the last Lok Sabha polls delivering sharp speeches,” Riyaz joined in. “And he was the first to call me up when I suffered an injury in a police lathicharge recently. The differences in our political views have never affected this intimacy,” adds Riyaz. They are all praise for their alma mater for their success as politicians. “Though we failed in the polls, the experience and the popularity in the college had helped a lot in the elections both for me and Adam,” Riyaz said. “I got an opportunity to contest from the constituency where the college is located,” said Adam, Rahul Gandhi’s handpicked candidate who lost to CPM’s Elamaram Kareem from Beypore.And has the defeat affected them? “Not at all. But, ironically, the counting centre was Farook College itself,” Riyaz’s face said it all.Soon came solace from Najeeb, “results do not matter. The decision of the party to contest both of you in major election itself is a great honour.” Najeeb is also the member of Choyimadam ward of Koduvally Panchayat, and he bagged a thumping majority of over 900 votes. From nostalgia, the discussion turned to contemporary issues and the aversion of the younger generation towards politics. “Nobody is taking politics seriously. Reading habit declined, debates and discussions vanished. More restrictions are imposed on reactions. Everyone is only bothered about career and individualism. It’s a product of globalisation and there are deliberate attempts to promote apolitical views,” complains Riyaz.Najeeb says the destruction of public schools will destroy the culture and affect the secular character of society. “Educational institutions are getting compartmentalised. Children hardly get a chance to mingle with various cultures and religions. Only public schools can develop a plural society and their protection is the need of the hour,” he said.Adam, KSU former state president, supported his views, “we have a lot of space for mutual cooperation and much lesser space for dissent. It’s high time that the youth organisations took the initiative to arrange stages for healthy debates and discussions.” Leaders are also very active in social networking sites and have hundreds of followers in the virtual world.Being a politician, one has to sacrifice a lot and compromise several things, says Najeeb. “I have gone to jail for 68 days on various occasions. On the very fourth day after the birth of my first child, I was in jail. Interestingly, the same thing happened after the birth of my second child as well,” Riyaz said. And the discussion can’t be complete without a word on Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption. “We are totally against any movement that jeopardises democracy and our constitution. But corruption should be curbed at any cost,” Adam said.The communion ended with the politicos deciding to launch coordinated action on various issues including campaigns against drug and alcohol abuse and to attain an enormous growth in the IT sector of the district.
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