Gen-Z rallies in Delhi revive 'Azadi' chant amid education protests

On July 26, officials sent crews to New Delhi to white-wash graffiti near Jantar Mantar after a large-scale student protest that began the previous day. The rally, led by the Cockroach Janta Party and veteran student groups like the All India Students Association and the Student Federation of India, demanded the ouster of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan following an exam-leak scandal. Protesters amplified the Bollywood track “Azadi” from Gully Boy, turning it into a unifying chant that echoed across Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai.

The slogan, once linked to sedition cases and the 2016 JNU protests involving figures such as Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar, now symbolizes a broader Gen-Z push for educational change and resistance to the Modi government’s nationalist agenda. Activists highlighted their reliance on social media and independent media to bypass traditional outlets they view as pro-government. Police maintained bright-yellow barricades and painted over some protest art, yet the movement persisted, drawing attention to the shrinking space for dissent in Indian universities.