Student Activism and New Frontiers: A Case Study of Jawaharlal Nehru University

Student activism in the Indian subcontinent has always been contingent upon traditional forms of mass mobilization through rallies, Dharnas, and other means of protests that would require the physical presence of the activists. The literature available on student activism also focuses on these aspects of mobilization and negotiations in analyzing student activism. With the advent of social media, solidarity activist networks started playing a decisive role in mass mobilization and information circulation which forced student organizations and individual student activists to rethink the medium of protests and adapt to the changing and evolving demands and contours in the digital world and the changing premises of higher education. Student activism is becoming more congruent to mass/parliamentary politics and there is definite shit in the ideological bases and actions of student activists while connecting with parliamentary politics. In looking at the question of how this turn toward education and the new digital era has impacted student activism and how organizations are trying to adapt to this new normal while maintaining earlier functioning we look toward Jawaharlal Nehru University, acclaimed for its student activism and overwhelming politically charged up the atmosphere which witnessed a very high rate of protest calls in the past decade. In the case of JNU, particular long-practiced methods of mass mobilization such as rallies, sit-ins, dhaba, and mess campaigns that have helped sustain its political nature have come to a halt and many students are not present on the campus owing to personal as well as administrative delays that have a definite impact on the kind of negotiations student leaders can initiate in absence of mass. The culture of this educational space is also enriched through its informal nature of education through debates and discussions where student organizations held talks and seminars which have reduced vastly owing to this digital divide. The paper chooses to look at the experience of student leaders on campus, the changing nature of protests and information circulation, and the consequences of such to determine how student activism is undergoing a massive change in premier educational institutions, determined by both a radically changed social situation and in absence of physical interactive spaces. It argues that we need to re-evaluate earlier theoretical frameworks available for analyzing student politics and look toward a more progressive blend of theories on micro aspects of student activism in movements (personal ambition, political socialization, organizational structure, etc.) to understand the changing contours of student activism in India.