How students are the first line of resistance

It would be a grievously wrong reading of the current national climate if one were to see the recent student protests as isolated incidents of resistance. Such a reading assumes that this movement is a temporary expression of dissatisfaction. It also assumes that it will eventually dissipate.

The movement of today is built on the sediments of the grievances of the past, which were ignored and buried under layers of distortion. The first section of society that recognises when democracy is under threat and stands up for it are always students. Almost a year after the Narendra Modi-led government first came to power in 2014, students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) went on a hunger strike for 139 days, opposing the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of the institute.

Mr. Chauhan’s lack of academic credentials was made up for by his proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).