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In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, Metternich,the chancellor of Austria, restored the Old Order in Europe which was not recognised by the students’ community. In response, the students of University of Jena founded a union called the Burschenschaften.
Throughout the world today, students actively participate in political, social and cultural activities, protesting and agitating against a repressive traditional system.
The emergence of students as an active class is the result of democracy and its institutions, although in the medieval period they remained confined to their institutions without any political or social concerns.
There are three factors which played an important role in the political activation of students. Firstly, the Industrial Revolution which started in England and later spread to Europe brought an end to the feudal culture. The status of an individual was now determined on merit and professional skills which subsequently created an active working class changing the social structure. The Industrial Revolution also influenced the education curriculum as factories were in need of professional technicians and managers. This provided an opening to the middle classes to send their children to educational institutions in order to compete for good jobs.
The second important event was the French Revolution of 1789 which abolished monarchy and feudalism and established the institution of a nation state which took it away education from the church and made it national. This benefitted a large number of middle class children.
The third factor was the contribution of philosophers, thinkers, novelists, artists and poets who created a social and political awareness among people. Teachers inspired students to actively participate in practical life and the struggle for social and political change. All these factors caused the beginning of students’ movements throughout Europe. These movements were further stimulated when Napoleon defeated Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia as it created waves of nationalism among people to liberate their countries. Students were foremost in this struggle.
In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, Metternich, the chancellor of Austria, restored the Old Order in Europe which was not recognised by the students’ community. In response, the students of University of Jena founded a union known as the Burschenschaften. Soon its branches were established nearly in all German universities. It represented a new style of politics different to the past activities in which students became involved in drinking, rioting and duelling.
A sense of patriotism was inculcated among the members, their motto being Honour, Freedom, and Fatherland. In 1817, it called a general meeting of students at Wartburg. The assembled students felt a sense of comradeship and expressed their adherence to the motto of Burschenschaften. In 1819 they again met at Jena and expressed their allegiance to the union. Eventually, the first German students federation was founded which decided to adopt black, red and gold as national colours of Germany. It brought a change in their lifestyle. They sported long hair and beards, idealised the medieval German past and vowed not to speak a word of French.
The German states were alarmed with their popularity and subsequently the Carlsbad decrees in 1819 banned the Burschenschaften. To stop their radical activities a number of laws were implemented. Secret agents were posted in the educational institutions to watch their activities. Lectures delivered by professors were attended by spies who monitored the content. Agents scrutinised the list of books read by students. These restrictions forced the students to form secret associations to escape the vigil of secret agencies.
Burschenschaften revived in 1830 on the eve of the Revolution which demanded a constitutional system. Though the revolution failed but students gained a new experience of revolutionary tactics and in 1848, they against emerged as active partners of other revolutionary groups in Berlin, Paris and Vienna. The revolutionary agenda was to end the kingdom in Europe and establish supremacy of constitution and Democratic institutions. Fighting against well armed government forces, they barricaded roads and streets and checked army movements. They excelled in street fight and resisted till the end. The significant aspect was that the students struggled along with common people for a democratic cause. Although the revolution failed to achieve its objectives and was crushed in all three cities, the students learnt practical lessons from this experience which they applied in future movements.
In Italy, students were part of the group which formed a secret association known as Carbonari (charcoal burner). Its motive was to unite Italy as one country, in this regard; it supported Mazzini in his efforts to liberate Italy from foreign bondage. This model was later adopted in Russia against the tyranny of the Czar. They used violence as a tool to create fear and horror among the ruling classes in order to warn them not to take any action against the interest of people.
These students’ movements influenced Asian, Africa and Latin American countries where a struggle for freedom began against colonialism and students played the role of a vanguard.
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