AICUF: OURSTORY, HERSTORY AND HISTORY  FROM 1924...

The modest beginning…

The Catholic Young Men Guild (CYMG), started by a group of college students with the guidance of Fr. P. Carty SJ at St.Joseph’s College, Trichy was an organisation in the tradition of ‘Catholic Action’. The guild had the following principal aims:

a)    the spirit of Christian Brotherhood;

b)    informed catholic mind;

c)    application of catholic principles to social pr

Study clubs were main units for functioning. The Rally’, the student magazine accompanied the guild from its inception. It was then merged with the MCYL (Malabar Catholic Youth League) that was founded by Fr. Honore SJ in 1915. CYMG was renamed as CYMF.

In the 30’s, the world and India in particular realised the value of being united…civil disobedience movement in India with the famous Dandi March in which the students, youths, peasants and workers took part. The 40^th year of Rerum Novarum (Leo XIII) emphasising the need of reconstructing the social order…another struggle of the students in the universities to work for the new social order, in 1937 CYMF grew far and wide in the Southern part of India and got re-christened itself as SICUF… the federation became a unit of the Pax-Romana (International Movement of Catholic Students)

In the 40’s, new challenges emerged in the form of wars, fascism, and nazism…the wars came to an end but the world suffered a lot! Unions and associations were thought of. In 1944-46, formation of Catholic Students’ Union and Newman Association were formed… the former exclusively for university students and the latter, the senior section open to catholic graduates, professionals and intelligentsia.

The whole of Indian universities woke up…more students joined the movement, SICUF looked great…and penetrated into lives of thousands of catholic students… SICUF became AICUF in 1949 as a National level student movement, recognised by CBCI (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India) and affiliated to the International Movement of Catholic Students.

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AICUF in 1950 & 1960

Developing a new humanism

• Developing leaders, prefessional and administrators to influence public life with positive values.

• Building a student community dedicated to truth, service & social justice.

• National Congresses and Conventions. 

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AICUF in 1970

• Witnessing a remarkable style and outlook.

• Moving on to 'Social Action' & 'Liberation'.

• Having Dialogue with Marxism & opting for radical.

• structural changes in society, in the church & in university.

• Coming into serious conflict with the local churches & managements.

• Analysing, making aware, organising through Project Know India, Poonamallee.

• Declaration, Documentation Centre, Debates, Conflicts, Controversies, Liberation theology and the radical Jesus and much more.

• Sowing the seed for 'Aicuf projects' & 'Social Action Groups'.

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AICUF in the 1980

Anxious to discover ' University to the Masses' with the slogan 'Back to the Campus'

• Searching for the secular alternative.

• Looking inward for clearer roles and formulations.

• Facing crises, confusions, and contradictions.

• Revitalizing itself through a search for a new Constitution.

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AICUF in 1989

• National Convention 300 students, advisers, Ex-Aicufers, social scientists,theologians,officials and friends....

• Evolving & approving a New Aicuf Constitution

• Laying the foundation for a new Aicuf.

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AICUF in 1990

• Taking a special option for Adivasis, Dalits & Women and for the students among these oppressed sections.

• Initiating locally based and secular student movements and strongly re-discovering the Federal Style.

• Searching for new pedagogies and new models in a world caught up with Globalization & Communalism.

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AICUF in 1999

  465 students from all over India participated

• "Marching with the Marginalised" was the theme of Convention.

• Draft Amendment in the Constitution of AICUF.

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AICUF from 2000

• Raising levels of consciousness of university students.

• Focus sharpened on awakening, being conscrentized, becoming sensitive to the marginalised.

• While becoming aware of Student Rights.

• All leading to evolve alternatives towards a just society.

• First National Women’s Convention in December 2004 in Gujarat.

• First National Dalit Commission Convention in May 2005 in hyderabad.

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Copyrights 2006