I am a JNU student. Do you want to know why I’m demanding Azadi?

Every day on my way to the library, I would look at the signboard by the Administration Block that reads, “Any demonstration within 100 meters of this area is prohibited.” It always compelled me to think: how did a place of expressing dissent we lovingly called Freedom Square transform into a site of silence? 

The Jawaharlal Nehru University’s slow transformation into a depoliticised campus, as symbolised by the signboard, haunted me, a fresher, and my fellow students. We would gulp down numerous cups of tea discussing how the administration was succeeding in silencing the voices of dissent on the campus.

The ongoing protest that started over a week ago has proved me wrong. I happily stand corrected.

The protest started in response to the administration updating the hostel manual, introducing “draconian” rules for boarders and hiking fees. What also angered the students was that the manual was cleared at a meeting that didn’t have the mandatory representation from the JNU Students’ Union. 

Hiking hostel fees by 999%, subtly pointing towards the introduction of  a “dress code” for female students, a lockdown of our social spaces, and unreasonable curfew timings for hostels – the rules were arbitrary and undemocratic and, thus, unacceptable to the JNU students’ community.  

The coverage of our protest in the mainstream media, however, has been devoid of sympathy and, more importantly, the truth. It’s not startling considering the nexus between corporate media and the Indian state. Our resistance only underscores the key tenets of a culture of free expression that has long distinguished JNU. I believe JNU is a representation of India’s real nationalist philosophy and hence our struggle seeks to take into account both the local issues of the university and the larger concerns of the country. 

The evolution of the protest has been quite inspiring, with the JNU community unanimously supporting the students’ union’s call. Classes were arranged outside classroom in lawns and open spaces. There was a nightly campaign where we sang songs and poems of resistance, performed theatre and shouted slogans. Chanting “Acchi shiksha ki, sasti shiksha ki, Azadi. Pitrisatta se Azadi”. Freedom of quality and affordable education, freedom from patriarchy. The slogan represents the respect students of JNU have for freedom. 

These slogans, which voice the struggles of all people, represent the cohesive nature of the movement where students have come together to make JNU a diverse, democratic space. The entire student fraternity, irrespective of their political inclinations, has come together to take a united stand on this issue. Varying opinions about the right course of action and modes of protest have only instilled more democracy into the movement. 

The administration’s claim that the protest is the handiwork of just a “few” students,  was challenged when thousands of people turned up to fight for their common cause, the locus of their collective plight. Our solidarity in resisting is an answer to the divisive politics of communalism. We acknowledge that there is no “nationalism” in forcing people out or preventing them from pursuing education which is their right and then making it possible “only for the economically privileged ones”. The beauty of our protest lies in that we logically highlighted what’s happening on campus with the root of this problem being an alliance between neo-fascism and neo-liberalism. Each slogan calls out instances of mismanagement in economic governance and a rupture of the social fabric, with similar intensity. A critical, anti-establishment stance against the university administration and the government is, thus, being perceived by some as “anti-national”.

It reminds me of what MS Golwalkar wrote in 1939. “All who question the idea of Hindu Rashtra are its enemies and by definition, anti-nationals”. Hindu Rashtra here means justice based on privileges and traditional authority. So when we are labelled “anti-nationals” for demanding equitable distribution of social goods and civil rights, we are actually protesting against and voicing the concerns of a nation, which is rarely given space in contemporary politics. This confluence of ideologies and a plan of action that has grown out of this protest in JNU is a blueprint for building a much-needed social movement in India against injustices that have done irreversible damage to the nation. 

A true patriot is the one who wants their nation, and its people, to progress. That is what we mostly study, research, practice and demand. And when it is not provided, we protest.