3 weeks ago
Ramachandra Guha: Student Protesters, Not Sangh Critics, Are True Nationalists
In India, many students are protesting because they are upset about cheating on important school tests and how leaders handled it.
Some people who support the government are calling these students traitors and saying they are getting money from other countries.
A famous history writer named Ramachandra Guha wrote an essay saying the students are not traitors.
He said the students are brave citizens who want their country to be fair and honest.
The students even gave themselves a funny nickname — cockroaches — because an important judge called them that as an insult.
Long ago, another leader named Indira Gandhi also said her critics were working for foreign countries.
Mr. Guha says it is okay to disagree with the government and still love your country.
He believes people who point out problems are actually the true nationalists.
He hopes their protests will make India a better place.
Historian Ramachandra Guha defends Indian student protesters against "deshdrohi" (traitor) accusations from the Sangh Parivar.
RSS ideologues and The Organiser alleged protesters were foreign-funded, citing George Soros, "Deep State" networks, and pizzas and burgers as evidence.
Protesters have embraced the "cockroach" label used pejoratively by the chief justice of India, using satire to mock the government.
Guha draws parallels between Narendra Modi's attacks on critics and Indira Gandhi's "foreign hand" claims during the 1975 Emergency.
A female student from Uttar Pradesh told Himal SouthAsian that examination leaks and their cover-up showed the government, not protesters, is anti-national.
- Who
- Historian Ramachandra Guha, student protesters in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and supporters of the ruling dispensation including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
- What
- A debate over whether student protesters are foreign-funded "deshdrohis" (traitors) or true nationalists, sparked by Guha's essay defending the protesters.
- Where
- India; the essay first appeared in The Telegraph.
- When
- July 2026, amid ongoing student protests over corruption in state education and examination leaks.
- Why
- Protesters demanded accountability for examination leaks and corruption in state education, while Guha argues that dissent calls the nation to its better self.
Protesters as true nationalists
Protesters as foreign-funded anti-nationals
Nature of the protests
Protesters as true nationalists
Students were non-violently drawing attention to corruption and examination leaks in state education, at some personal cost.
Protesters as foreign-funded anti-nationals
Protesters were "well-fed, smartphone-wielding agitators" running a "professionally managed campaign" rather than expressing spontaneous anger.
Foreign funding
Protesters as true nationalists
Claims of foreign funding were made without evidence; accusations of links to George Soros and "Deep State" networks reflect a paranoid mindset.
Protesters as foreign-funded anti-nationals
The pizzas and burgers protesters were eating showed that "foreign accounts were subsidizing the protest kitchens," with support from countries across the globe.
Who undermines the nation
Protesters as true nationalists
The government's cover-up of examination leaks, not the protesters, is anti-national; the protesters are the true nationalists.
Protesters as foreign-funded anti-nationals
Critics of the regime are deshdrohis, allegedly working with Pakistan or foreign powers to break up India.
Key facts
- Author
- Ramachandra Guha
- Publication
- The Telegraph (first appeared there)
- Key accusation against protesters
- Being "deshdrohis" (traitors) funded by foreign powers including George Soros and "Deep State" networks
- Magazine behind allegations
- The Organiser, the RSS house magazine
- Protesters' self-identification
- "Cockroaches," reclaiming a slur used by the chief justice of India
- Government criticism cited
- Examination leaks and their cover-up by the party in power
- Historical parallel
- Indira Gandhi's "foreign hand" claims during the 1975 Emergency
- Student quoted
- A female student from Uttar Pradesh, via Neha Dixit's essay in Himal SouthAsian
Quotes
Girish Karnad
Renowned playwright and theatre director
“I am an urban Naxal”
scroll.in
“I am a CIA agent”
scroll.in
Sources
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