V. P. Sanu

Sanu started his political life by organising SFI at GHSS Kuttippuram. He was active in Balasangam and later became the district secretary of the organisation at Malappuram.[9] He has held the responsibilities of Area Secretary of Students' Federation of India at Valancherry, President and Secretary of Malappuram District Committee, President of the Kerala State Committee of Students' Federation of India.[9] The 15th All India Conference of Students' Federation of India at Sikar, Rajasthan elected him as the National President of SFI.[10] He was re-elected as the National President at the 16th All India Conference of Students' Federation of India held at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in 2018.[11][2][12]

During his term as the National President of SFI the organisation has witnessed remarkable growth in southern and northern states of India.[13][14] He played a key role in organising rallies against Narendra Modi on 15 March 2016 at New Delhi demanding improved budget allocation for education, health and employment generation.[15] He has led movements demanding justice for Rohit Vemula and Najeeb Ahamed at national capital. He became a strong voice against the "13-point roster system" and scuttling off reservation in universities during faculty recruitment.[16][17] Sanu gave a call for boycotting Hewlett Packard (HP) protesting against the Israel's violation of human rights in Palestine.[18][19][20][21] Sanu was a delegate to World Festival of Youth and Students held at Sochi, Russia on 14 to 22 August 2017.

Sanu has led a massive national jatha starting from Kanyakumari and passing through 22 states of India from 4 to 17 September 2018.[22] The jatha was directed against the anti-student policies of Narendra Modi and raised the slogan of "Scientific and Quality Education Without Discrimination".[22] He has taken part in rallies against Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata.[23] On 18 February 2019, under the leadership of Sanu, students' federation of India and several left organisations marched to parliament demanding the 10 percentage of central government budget allocation for education and the implementation of Bhagat Singh National Employment Guarantee scheme.[24][25]

He openly declared support for Women in Cinema Collective and criticised Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) for their decision to take back actor Dileep, who was accused in abduction and sexual harassment of an actress in Kerala.[26] He asked to reconsider decisions to call Actors affiliated to AMMA for SFI programmes.[26] Sanu has taken strong position against moral policing.[27][28] He has played a major leadership role in more than hundred days of student protests at Calicut university against the then vice chancellor Abdul Salaam and has led marches demanding the implementation of charter of demands.[29] He arranged the screening of The Unbearable Being of Lightness, March March March and In the Shade of Fallen Chinar in campuses across India. These were the short films banned by Central Government at the International Documentary and Short Film festival of 2016.[30] He disbanded the SFI unit in Trivandrum after its members entered into serious clashes.[31]

His tenure along with Mayukh Biswas as national leadership of Students Federation of India articulated resistance to National Education Policy 2019.[32] The dimensions of exclusion, centralization and commercialisation was considered as the major problems of NEP-2019. Ever since the draft of NEP got published, India has seen nationwide protest action against the educational policies of Narendra Modi Government.[33] SFI found NEP as an instrument by the central government for a) undermining independent research b) destroying the federal character of education system and c) deepening commercialisation and privatisation of education.[34] SFI was also in the fore front demanding proper investigation and punishment of stupidities for the institutional murder of Fathima Lathif, a student of IIT Madras.[35][36]

Under Sanu's and Mayukh's leadership, Students Federation of India took out a parliament march against Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.[37] He pointed out that the core values of Indian Constitution is attacked by Modi government.[38] SFI approached the Supreme Court of India demanding the repeal of CAA - 2019 and took account parliament march against it.[39][40][41] They also initiated TV Challenge to combat digital divide in Kerala to help marginalised students.[42] In first of an attempt nationally, he handed over WISK (Walk-in Sample Kiosk) developed by SFI activists to Government hospital, Tirur during COVID-19.[43][44]

V P Sanu is now elected as the district committee member of CPI(M) at Malappuram. The Left Democratic Front in Kerala has fielded him as the candidate at Malappuram parliamentary constituency for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.[45][46][47][48][49] He received international solidarity for his candidature. Student and youth activists from Canada, Turkey and Bolivia issued statements appealing the voters of Malappuram.[50][51] Sanu contested against P. K. Kunhalikutty of IUML. In the legislative assembly election of 1991, Sanu's father V. P. Sakkariya also has contested against P. K. Kunhalikutty as a CPI(M) candidate.[52][53]