2 weeks ago
The Day After I-Day: Snapshots of Freedom and Unfreedom
After a big holiday in India called Independence Day, a writer named Vandita Mishra wrote about how people can and cannot speak freely.
A little before the holiday, college students gathered at a place called Jantar Mantar to ask the government for change.
The government listened, and an important minister named Dharmendra Pradhan resigned because of the students' demands.
This showed people that even a powerful government can be asked to bend.
But the writer says other things show that freedom still has limits.
The Prime Minister used a new label, 'dimagi Naxal,' for people who disagree with him.
A court in Mumbai said two students could not get bail for shouting slogans about other people in jail.
A university stopped students from talking about a book written by a former student.
A lawyer leader first punished a whole class of law students, then said sorry.
The writer says young people's success will last only if they keep pushing for change and stay a continuing catalyst.
The students' movement at Jantar Mantar forced a government retreat, with Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigning in response to protesters' demands.
PM Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech at the Red Fort invoked 'yuva shakti' but framed young protesters as passive beneficiaries and warned of a 'dimagi Naxal' mindset.
A Mumbai sessions court refused anticipatory bail to two TISS students over slogans at an October 2025 event honouring late professor GN Saibaba; the Bombay High Court later gave one interim protection.
JNU withdrew permission to discuss Umar Khalid's certified PhD dissertation, citing 'non disclosure of full facts'.
The Bar Council of India chairman retracted and apologized for a diktat punishing the entire 2026 batch of NALSAR University of Law over criticism of the Chief Justice of India.
- Who
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Jantar Mantar student protesters, two TISS students, jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, and columnist Vandita Mishra.
- What
- A column reflecting on snapshots of freedom and unfreedom the day after Independence Day, contrasting the students' movement's success at Jantar Mantar with new restrictions on dissent.
- Where
- India — Jantar Mantar and the Red Fort in Delhi, Mumbai, JNU, and NALSAR University of Law.
- When
- The day after the 80th Independence Day, following the Jantar Mantar protests; a related TISS event occurred in October 2025.
- Why
- To examine what the students' movement achieved, what remains unchanged, and whether Gen Z becomes a continuing catalyst for democratic change.
Critics of Government Restrictions
Government and Institutional Stance
PM's 'dimagi Naxal' label for critics
Critics of Government Restrictions
The label 'dimagi Naxal' (one with a Naxal mindset) criminalises thought and ideas directly and is the most unvarnished of the PM's labels for dissenters.
Government and Institutional Stance
The PM, while invoking 'yuva shakti' profusely, described a national challenge posed by those with a 'dimagi Naxal' mindset and framed the young as 'labharthi' (passive beneficiaries) to be yoked to the national project.
Mumbai court's refusal of anticipatory bail to TISS students
Critics of Government Restrictions
The court treats raising slogans, rather than the prolonged pre-trial incarceration of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, as the crime and injustice.
Government and Institutional Stance
Additional Sessions Judge V B Bohra said the accused's act appeared not limited to paying homage to GN Saibaba; they allegedly also raised slogans seeking the release of UAPA-accused activists.
JNU's withdrawal of permission to discuss Umar Khalid's book
Critics of Government Restrictions
Withdrawing permission to discuss a certified PhD dissertation citing 'non disclosure of full facts' is opaque bureaucracy-speak that should embarrass a distinguished university.
Government and Institutional Stance
The university cited 'non disclosure of full facts' as the reason for withdrawing permission, without further explanation.
Key facts
- Author
- Vandita Mishra, Indian Express column
- Occasion
- Day after the 80th Independence Day
- Key resignation
- Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following Jantar Mantar student protests
- PM's speech
- Narendra Modi's I-Day address at Red Fort invoked 'yuva shakti' and used the label 'dimagi Naxal'
- Court case
- Mumbai sessions court denied anticipatory bail to two TISS students; Bombay High Court gave one interim protection
- JNU decision
- Withdrew permission to discuss Umar Khalid's PhD dissertation, citing 'non disclosure of full facts'
- Bar Council action
- Diktat against NALSAR University of Law's 2026 batch retracted with an apology
- Detained activists
- Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam jailed about six years with trial pending under UAPA
Sources
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