The popular uprising of 14 October 1973 (, , ; also , , ) was a watershed event in Thailand's history. The uprising resulted in the end of the ruling military dictatorship of anti-communist Thanom Kittikachorn and altered the Thai political system. Notably, it highlighted the growing influence of Thai university students in politics.
Student activism in Thailand the 1950s–1970s
Student activism in Thailand grew during the 1950s, as many students became inspired by leftist ideology to mobilize and organize demonstrations and rallies against the pro-American policies of the ruling government. The rise of university students as a political force was also due to the increase in absolute numbers of university students. From 1961 to 1972, the number of university students increased from 15,000 to 150,000, while the number of universities increased from five to seventeen. Prior to 1968, student activity was confined to demonstrations of loyalty rather than demands for change or criticism of the political system. The death of Sarit Thanarat in December 1963 changed things as the government under Thanom was more tolerant of students and intellectuals. The publication of the Social Science Review in the 1960s was credited as being responsible for restarting intellectual thinking and debate in Thai politics. Discussion groups sprang up at major universities which developed into organized and important independent groups, e.g., the "Sapha Na Dome" and "Sethatham" and the "SOTUS" group. These independent groups in turn produced their own writings and the Social Science Review began to publish articles from them. Some of the writings were critical of the government. These groups also started to hold clandestine political seminars which encouraged students to be analytical and critical.
The National Student Center of Thailand
The student discussion groups were in many important ways different from the student unions already present on campus. They were radical and looked for new ways of interpreting Thai society and politics, often with a leftist slant. They did not organize themselves the same way the official student unions were run, i.e., on a hierarchical and politically conservative basis. These groups from different universities were able to transcend inter-university rivalry and build up contacts among themselves. Development programs, based on those of the United States Peace Corps, took students from various campuses to work in rural areas during their vacations and forced them to recognize the problems in the countryside. The programs also served to show the students how inadequate their university training had been, as they were not able to use any of their knowledge to improve the conditions which the majority of the rural population faced.
As a consequence of the increasing collegial contact between students, the National Student Center of Thailand (NSCT) was founded in 1968. Its purpose was to represent and coordinate student action. The NSCT was to play a crucial role in the 1973 uprising. After several meetings between representatives from Thailand's universities, it was proposed that Thai students should have an inter-university organization, the NSCT. It was to include two members from each of eleven institutions: Chulalongkorn University, Thammasat University, Kasetsart University, Silpakorn University, Mahidol University, Chiang Mai University, Khon Kaen University, Prince of Songkla University, Prasanmit Teachers College (now Srinakharinwirot University), Bangsaen Teachers College (now Burapha University), and Patumwan Teachers College (now combined with Srinakharinwirot University).