Constitution
Name:

The name of the organization shall be Students' Federation of India (SFI).

Aims:

1. To organize the students in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions of the country and also Indian students studying abroad under its banner to build a powerful and well-knit student movement for the upliftment and betterment of the student community.

2. To take active interest in the struggle for liquidation of the evil legacies of colonialism and for building in our country an independent, democratic and socialist society to ensure a prosperous and progressive future for our people.

3. To establish a democratic, scientific and progressive educational system ensuring education and job for all that will be facilitated by the implementation of comprehensive land reforms, elimination of the stranglehold of international finance capital and indigenous monopoly capitalism.

4. To organize the student community in the struggles of the wider democratic movement of the workers, peasants, and other progressive forces and to seek their cooperation and support to achieve the immediate demands and aims.

5. To achieve the democratic rights of the student community- Right to democratic and independent expression and behavior. Right to form student unions and associations and right to assemble - Right to participate in the management of all educational institutions and of all bodies connected with the academic and other affairs of student life.

6. To work for free universal and compulsory education up to secondary stage and abolition of all school fees up to plus two stage, and for all necessary and complete facilities of education, hostel, scholarships, sports and cultural and social activities that would be adequate and within the reach of all students. To ensure that education upto primary level is provided in mother tongue.

7. To struggle for guarantee of employment after completion of education or unemployment grants till employed and fight for the recognition of the right to work as a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right.

8. To fight against every manifestation of, and oppression or discrimination based on, religion, caste, language, race, region or gender and to work for secularism, communal harmony, amity and equality of all.

9. To extend warm solidarity to all the progressive forces of the world struggling for freedom, national independence and socialism.

10. To establish fraternal and friendly relations with all other student organizations, which are pledged to work for secularism, democracy and socialism and to have united action with other student organizations on specific issues and demands.

To achieve the democratic rights of the student community - Right to democratic and independent expression and behavior. Right to form student unions and associations and right to assemble - Right to participate in the management of all educational institutions and of all bodies connected with the academic and other affairs of student life.

Flag:

A flag with a red five cornered star in the top left corner, on a white background and Independence, Democracy and Socialism written one beneath the other also in red; the ratio of length and breadth of the flag being 3:2.

Affiliation of Student Organizations, Members and Units:

Students' Federation of India may permit affiliation to any student organization, based on a State in India or in certain areas of any state or on any educational institution provided that the organization accepts the programme of Students' Federation of India, and expresses its willingness to abide by the Constitution of Students' Federation of India and command a certain minimum number of students on its rolls, as decided by the Central Executive Committee of the Students' Federation of India.

Any unit desiring affiliation to Students' Federation of India shall charge its members a subscription fee of Re. 1 per academic session in case of school students, and Rs. 2 per academic session for students from other academic institutions, or $ 1 in case of overseas Indian students and shall pay an affiliation fee of 20 per cent of the subscription fee, per member on its rolls to the Central Executive Committee of the Students Federation of India Apart from the affiliation fee from each member, each unit of the organisation and the affiliate organizations will have to pay a registration fee of Re. 1 and overseas units and affiliates, 1 $ per annum to the Central Executive Committee of the Students' Federation of India.

Membership and Rights and Duties of the Members:

A student above 12 years of age or studying in standard six and above, whichever is earlier, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, language, race or region and opinion, who accepts the objectives of the Students Federation of India and pays the required annual subscription fee is eligible to be a member. School students are required to pay an annual subscription of 1 rupee, and students from other academic institutions have to pay Rs. 2 or 1 $ in case of overseas Indian students. The membership will be valid for a single academic session only. The differential membership fees shall not in any way mean differential rights and duties of the members.

Any member of Students' Federation of India after the completion of ones education is eligible to enroll oneself as a member for another two years more. Even after this period, the conference can elect those ex-students in the Executive Committee or as office bearers of the said committee.

Every member will have the right to elect and to be elected and place ones opinions before the executive of the Students' Federation of India.

A member will have the right of resignation.

All members will have the responsibility of implementing the programmers adopted through general conference and the right to propagate those objectives and activities of the Students' Federation of India. Every member should regularly read the organ of the Students' Federation of India and should take responsibilities of popularizing the organ.

Every member can contribute and should collect funds for the organization.

Disciplinary Action:

Disciplinary action may be taken against any member by the duly constituted committee under whose jurisdiction the member is enrolled, if the person's activities are against the interest or the Constitution, of the organization.

A member facing disciplinary charges has the right to explain his or her conduct to the committee initiating action.

Expulsion of a member has to be ratified by the next higher committee. A member who is expelled or is facing any disciplinary action has the right to appeal to the higher committees and subsequently up to the Central Executive Committee.

Central Executive Committee can disaffiliate any unit, for not conforming to the interest of the organization or acting against the aims and objectives of the organization. State bodies have similar powers vis-à-vis units under them. In the latter case, right of appeal for the units lie with the Central Executive Committee.

Disaffiliation of any State committee by the Central Executive Committee must be placed for approval at the next All India Conference.

Structure of the Organization:

Conferences



Executives



Affiliated bodies, organized on State, District, Zone/Area, local and institution basis.

The Organization and its Rights:

The All India Conference will be the highest body of the entire organization. The State Conference will be the highest body of the respective state organization; similarly, the highest body of the organization for any level will be the conference of the organization of that particular level. The All India conferences will be held normally every two years.

The Affiliated bodies of Students' Federation of India will elect delegates to the All India Conference by proportional vote in their respective conferences. Delegates to a conference of the Students' Federation of India will be elected from the conferences or organizational conventions of the lower level bodies that come under its jurisdiction. In case of organizational conventions, advance ratification from the higher committee will be required. The number of delegates from any unit to a conference will be in a certain proportion of the membership commanded by the unit. The executive or the committee of a level will decide on the ratio of delegation and membership and other matters pertaining to the details of the same for the conference at its level.

The conference will take the final decision pertaining to the subject and the procedure of the conference and will elect a steering committee and a presidium for conducting the work of the conference.

The conference will review the work of the organization of the interim period since the last conference and will adopt the future programme.

A statement on the work carried out and the annual accounts of the outgoing committee will be placed before the conference.

The conference will elect an executive, the number of which shall be fixed by the Conference.

The voting will be by secret ballot and proportional representation in case unanimity is wanting in the elections.

Executive:

In between two conferences the executive or the committee shall be the highest body.

The executive will execute the decision of the conference.

The executive will draft rules in conformity with the Constitution for conducting the work.

The CEC should meet at least thrice a year and the notice of the meeting should be circulated at least 15 days prior to the meeting. If at least one-third of the members of the Central Executive Committee demand for a meeting, it shall have to call a meeting within two months. If more than one-third of the members be present at a meeting, the decision of the meeting shall be considered valid.

If any seat becomes vacant, the executive can co-opt to fill up the space.

The member of the executive shall have to pay the fee of one rupee per year.

The Executive may form different sub-committees to carry on its work.

The Executive after its election shall elect a President, a General Secretary and Vice Presidents and Joint Secretaries whose numbers it shall decide. The total strength of the Central Secretariat will not exceed 1/3rd of the total strength of the Executive.

The Executive shall form the editorial board for the organ of the Students' Federation of India or the secretariat should take the necessary responsibility.

The executive may assign one member from the secretariat to supervise the fund.

All the affiliated state units should be represented in the Executive.

The President or in the absence of the President any Vice President shall conduct the functions of the Executive Committee.

The All India Conference shall be convened by the decision of the Executive.

The Executive is empowered to remove, suspend, or expel any of its members or office bearers for misconduct or any anti-organizational activities.

The Secretariat:

The Secretariat shall consist of office bearers. It conducts the functions of the interim period between two executive meetings.

The General Secretary after consultation with the Secretariat shall convene the meeting of the Executive Committee.

The affiliated bodies and State Committees of the organization can have their own Constitution without transgressing or conflicting with the provisions of the Constitution of Students' Federation of India.

Change in the Constitution:

The conference only can change or amend the Programme and Constitution. Any notice of proposed amendments to the Constitution by any member or unit must reach the Central Executive Committee at least two months before the All India Conference. The Central Executive Committee must circulate them to the State units at least one month before the All India Conference. The amendments proposed by CEC will also have to follow the same procedure.

All proposed amendments to the programme and Constitution must be passed by at least two-thirds of the total number of delegates attending the Conference.

Rules under the Constitution:

1. The rules under the Constitution can be amended by the Central Executive Committee.

2. To ensure the rights of individual members, the primary unit committees must organize general body meetings after the interval of certain regular periods and the primary unit committees will have to take into cognizance the views of the general body and make necessary alteration or rectification if the need so arises. But these general body meetings should not be construed as substitute to the annual unit conference.

3. To organize such general body meetings in a meaningful manner, it is necessary to limit the membership under one primary unit committee. To adopt such a course, it is obvious that the institution cannot always be the basis for the formation of the unit. The new basis for such units may be evolved in consultation with the immediate higher committee.

4. To adopt the democratic principles for the functioning of the organization, it is necessary to define the areas of rights and responsibilities of the various committees at different levels. The rights of the different committees are as follows:
a) The primary unit committee will have the absolute right of taking decisions concerning issues at the institution level or its defined area of work, provided such decisions do not have implications, which go beyond the confines of the institution or the unit's area of work.

b) The local committee will have absolute right to take decisions concerning issues at its respective local level, provided such decisions do not have implications, which go beyond the confines of the respective locale.

c) The area/zonal committees will have absolute right to take decisions concerning issues at the respective area/zonal level provided such decisions do not have implications, which go beyond the confines of the respective area/zone.

d) The district committee will have absolute right to take decisions concerning issues at the respective district level, provided such decisions do not have implications, which go beyond the confines of the respective district.

e) The state committee will have absolute right to take all decisions concerning issues at the respective state level, provided such decisions do not have implications, which go beyond the confines of the respective state. The state committee will have the right to publish journals. The lower committees can only do so with explicit permission from the state committee.

f) The CEC will have the absolute right to take decisions on all issues of national and international concern.

5. With new and diverse conditions of the student movement prevailing in different parts of the country, the mechanism of affiliation is not fully adequate to provide organizational space for interaction with new student structures with democratic content, which are coming up, on regional basis. For the advance of the united and democratic student movement of the country, it is necessary to bestow consultative status to these structures. The CEC will have the absolute power to workout the exact mechanism taking concrete decisions on the basis of evaluation of specific cases.

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