Nearly a decade after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) became the epicentre of a national controversy over alleged “anti-national” slogans, the politically charged campus is once again facing a similar flashpoint. The latest row erupted after a protest on Monday night against the Supreme Court’s January 5 decision denying bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, both JNU alumni, in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The gathering was initially organised to commemorate the January 5, 2020 violence on campus during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Videos purportedly from the protest surfaced on social media showing students raising slogans critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The JNU security chief has sought registration of an FIR, terming the slogans “objectionable, provocative and inflammatory”. The university administration said such sloganeering violated the JNU Code of Conduct and went beyond the scope of democratic dissent.
JNU Students’ Union president Aditi Mishra, whose name figures in the FIR request, rejected the allegations, stating that the slogans were ideological in nature and not personal attacks. The incident has triggered a sharp political backlash, echoing the 2016 JNU controversy. BJP leaders revived terms such as “anti-national”, “urban naxal” and “tukde-tukde gang” to describe the protesters, while opposition leaders defended students’ right to protest, including against court decisions, though some urged restraint in language.
Union ministers and BJP leaders criticised the protest as an attempt to undermine judicial authority, while opposition figures from the Congress and RJD accused the ruling party of selective outrage and suppressing dissent. The current controversy has revived memories of February 2016, when alleged anti-national slogans at a campus event led to the arrest of then JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and activist Umar Khalid. While forensic probes later found some videos from that episode were manipulated, the case remains unresolved.
A decade on, the lives of key figures from 2016 have diverged sharply. Umar Khalid remains in prison after spending over five years as an undertrial, while Sharjeel Imam also continues to be incarcerated. Kanhaiya Kumar has since entered mainstream politics and is now a Congress spokesperson. Other prominent faces from the earlier protests have either faded from public life or shifted political positions. With fresh FIR demands and political sparring, the latest episode suggests that JNU’s long-standing role as a flashpoint in debates over nationalism, dissent and free speech remains unchanged.
A protest against the Supreme Court's decision denying bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam triggered the latest flashpoint on campus.
Videos showed students raising slogans critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The JNU security chief deemed them objectionable and inflammatory.
This incident echoes the 2016 controversy involving alleged anti-national slogans, leading to arrests and a similar political backlash.
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam remain incarcerated, while Kanhaiya Kumar entered mainstream politics as a Congress spokesperson.
