910: Jamia, JNU, AMU – Top Universities, Top in Protests: Let’s Applaud
Do you know about the Navnirman Andolan? Gujarat 1973-74? Okay, you would not know... but PM Narendra Modi, he must know... because he was a part of it... A student strike against a fee hike in hostel food, became such a massive agitation against corruption across Gujarat, that in 3 months it led to the fall of Congress CM Chimanbhai Patel and his government.In 1975 too, during the Emergency, as a student and RSS pracharak, Modi organised protests in Gujarat, spending months underground. At the same time, in Delhi, his late colleague, Arun Jaitley, then a firebrand ABVP leader and DU Student Union President, was jailed for leading anti-Emergency protests. Across India, thousands of students, many inspired by Jaiprakash Narayan, were on the streets – among them young Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh – all youth leaders then.So, what’s my point? The point is that for students to protest, agitate, express dissent against what they see to be wrong, is in a student’s DNA! When they are young, idealistic, sensitive, aware of what’s going on around them, and have a strong view about it, when they are full of energy, and unafraid, then, of course, they will PROTEST!Yeh Jo India Hai Na… whether it was a 100 years ago, in our freedom struggle, or 45 years ago during the Emergency, or just months ago, during the Anti-CAA-NRC protests, whether it was Modi and Arun Jaitley then... or Safoora Zargar and Meeran Haidar today... students have been India’s conscience keepers, and they must continue to do that.VO: Rohit Khanna
