Song, protest, the university, and the nation: Delhi, 2016

Abstract

In the wake of the suicide of Dalit postgraduate student Rohith Vermula in Hyderahabad, protests swept educational centres all over India. It was JNU, however, that became ground zero for dissent, especially after the arrest of student leader K. Kumar. His release from prison put into motion the resistance to curb division of powers in India, and sparked a national dispute on being an anti-national (read terrorist) Indian subject. Among the tools to make their plea visible, JNU students and faculty alike resorted to common denominators of Indian popular culture like Bollywood soundtracks.