‘We were never seen as a mind, only as a vote’: Neha Bora on India’s student resistance and the fight for democracy
AISA national president Neha Bora addressed student activism in India, arguing that youth are treated as electoral votes rather than citizens with independent ideas. She highlighted the influence of the Rohith Vemula movement and defended the right to democratic dissent.
Why it matters
The speech reflects growing tensions between student movements and the political establishment regarding civil liberties and the treatment of dissenters.
“Youngsters in India were never seen as having a mind. They were always seen only as a vote,” said All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora in Hyderabad on Sunday (August 16), arguing that the growing student movements across the country were challenging a political system that treated young people primarily as electoral constituencies rather than citizens with independent ideas.
Speaking at the 15th Annual Hasan Memorial Lecture, ‘Young India Speaks: Jantar Mantar and the Way Forward’, at Lamakaan, Ms. Bora said her generation had entered student activism after witnessing the movement around University of Hyderabad (UoH) scholar Rohith Vemula and that his struggle continued to shape student politics.
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