Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Progressive Students Union

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep‎. – robertsky (talk) 03:42, 11 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Progressive Students Union

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Non-notable organisation. No reliable sources. Fails WP:N and would seem unlikely to ever meet it. Cabrils (talk) 07:04, 2 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Organizations, Politics, and India. Shellwood (talk) 11:38, 2 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Keep - PSU, previously AIPSU, is active since 1950s, and has played a significant role in student politics in Kerala, West Bengal and, to some extent, Tripura. But it's an organization that is now well past its heydays, and its online footprint isn't great. I note this "RSP did not fail to cast its net wide enough to reach the student community . Its student wing is called PSU or Progressive Students ' Union . In pre - partition days , RSP student leaders who worked hand in hand with the All India Students Congress , took part in the struggles against the British Raj . They joined demonstrations for the release of INA prisoners , observed Rashid Ali Day , and campaigned against communal riots . But they had no alliance with the student cadres of the CPI . In post - independence period , All Bengal Students Congress adopted a policy of all out support to the Congress Govt . and the RSP found it increasingly difficult to support this rightwing leadership . Hence in 1956 , the PSU came into existence . The students belonging to the PSU upheld the cause of universal education , democratic management of schools and colleges , more budgetary allocation of funds for education etc. The PSU sent volunteers for the liberation of Goa , organised relief squads for the refugees , protested against the increase in school fees and undemocratic Bill for the Board of secondary Education . Sourindra Nath Bhattacharya , Bijan Biswas , Prof. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya were prominent student leaders of the RSP . Banin Ray , Kshiti Goswami were also in the limelight for many years . But the PSU was never considered a very strong force in West Bengal student movement ." (Marxist Parties of West Bengal in Opposition and in Government, 1947-2001 (p. 88))

Another ref is [https://ia601504.us.archive.org/4/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.131364/2015.131364.The-Politics-Of-Scarcity_text.pdf The Politics of Scarcity (p. 181) by Myron Weiner "Two other student movements claim national coverage, the Progressive Students Union, sponsored by the Marxist-left, and the Socialist-sponsored Socialist Student Organization. The PSU was started in 1954 and claims thousands of members in Calcutta and tens of thousands nationally. Like members of the Youth Congress and AISF, they arc active in attempting to gain control of the various college unions, and have succeeded in a few of the Calcutta colleges. They participated in the 1954 teachers’ movement for higher wages, sent volunteers to the Goa satyagraha campaign, and agitated against the attempt to merge the states of Bihar and West Bengal. In 1955 the PSU agitated against raising tuition fees, and in 1957 they participated in the protest against high food prices. The PSU is strongest in Calcutta, as arc the other student groups in Bengal, and is less active in the rural schools and colleges. Its most active workers, like those of the Marxist-left parties that give it support, have come from East Bengal."

I'd argue this is a case of WP:NEXIST, where it is clear that if we had access to regional print media from Kerala and Bengal from 1950s, 1960s, 1970s etc we'd have plenty of material to use as source. We do find some proxies of this online, such as [1], [2] The Telegraph (on conflict at a college in WB), The Telegraph (report on a 2 day district conf attended by state minister), [https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/rsp-sets-terms-for-election-alliance/cid/842288, a school gherao (2005). On participation is Bengal refugee movement, The Marginal Men: The Refugees and the Left Political Syndrome in West Bengal (p. 383). Per non-WP:RS source AIPSU won 1969 student elections in West Bengal in 5 colleges. AIPSU also produced many of the RSP national leaders, such as T. J. Chandrachoodan and Kshiti Goswami. --Soman (talk) 10:44, 3 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - 2025 article in Ananda Bazar Patrika on the 23rd West Bengal PSU conference. 2022 article in Ananda Bazar Patrika on election of new West Bengal leadership of PSU. --Soman (talk) 10:54, 3 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Keep. I am convinced by Soman's argument and sources. The sources alone might be enough to meet the GNG, but when combined with the clearly demonstrated history and national political influence of this organization, NEXIST more than suffices. Toadspike [Talk] 13:31, 9 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per Soman. Lova Falk (talk) 08:58, 10 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.