WHEN victory TURNS INTO VENOM
JNU used to be a symbol of student intellect and dissent.
Today, it’s trending for all the wrong reasons.
Aditi Mishra, the newly elected JNUSU president, won the election—but lost the plot in her first speech.
What should have been a moment of unity became an on-stage meltdown filled with violent metaphors and social-media-ready insults.
The speech went viral instantly, not for its ideas, but for its outrage quotient.
The question is no longer who rules JNU—but what kind of politics we’re normalising.
THE SPEECH THAT SHOOK THE CAMPUS
Delivered to a cheering crowd, Mishra’s address mixed celebration with provocation: fiery language, open taunts, and personal jabs.
Within hours, snippets spread across X and Instagram, sparking nationwide outrage.
Supporters called it “revolutionary candour.”
Critics called it “a threat dressed as activism.”
Either way, it revealed the new grammar of indian campus politics—rage first, reasoning later.
CAMPUS POLITICS: FROM IDEAS TO INSULTS
Once upon a time, student elections revolved around books, hostels, stipends, and research grants.
Now they revolve around hashtags and hostility.
Parties no longer compete on policy but on who can shout louder, trend faster, and offend deeper.
And social media rewards it—every slur becomes a soundbite; every threat, a badge of authenticity.
The result?
University campuses that were meant to produce thinkers are now producing troll factories with microphones.
WHEN REVOLUTION BECOMES PERFORMANCE
Aditi Mishra’s speech wasn’t an exception—it was a symptom.
Young leaders across campuses have realised that outrage travels faster than nuance.
“Performance politics” has replaced genuine reform.
From Left to Right, students mirror the aggression of the national scene:
• Ideological purity tests replace dialogue.
• Dissent becomes disrespect.
• Opponents become enemies.
This isn’t leadership; it’s political cosplay.
THE COST OF NORMALISING HATE SPEECH
Violent language doesn’t stay on the stage.
It seeps into everyday conversation, normalising threats as “passion.”
It legitimises anger over an argument.
When the next generation of politicians learns to start with abuse, democracy forgets how to listen.
And the price isn’t paid in viral videos—it’s paid in polarised campuses and frightened students.
ACCOUNTABILITY: THE ONE THING STUDENT LEADERS STILL FAIL AT
Every student leader demands accountability from the state.
But how many hold themselves accountable to their peers?
How many apologise when their words cross the line?
Universities must now ask hard questions:
Should hate speech be tolerated as “expression”?
Should student unions be immune from the same codes of conduct they demand from Parliament?
If the answer is no, then it’s time for ethical reform in campus politics.
EPILOGUE: IDEAS DESERVE AMPLIFIERS, NOT ARSONISTS
Winning an election is easy; winning respect is harder.
The real test of leadership is not in victory speeches but in restraint.
JNU’s latest controversy is not just about one student leader—it’s about the death of decency in discourse.
Unless universities reclaim the space for dialogue, tomorrow’s parliament will look exactly like today’s X feed: loud, divided, and permanently outraged.
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