Reading JNU’s Student Politics Through the Lens of Linguistic Landscape
Pragya Ranjan | 16 May 2026 | Countercurrents.org
It has been 57 years since the establishment of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). An institution founded with a reputation across the country for the interdisciplinary nature of its social science studies. It brings students from diverse backgrounds including those who come from marginalised backgrounds. It is particularly known for its unique and vibrant student politics. JNU provides a violence-free space for political discussion for students from marginalized sections. The institution itself was founded on the ideals of Nehru in 1969. After much deliberation in the parliament with the vision of establishing a university of “an entirely different and new type” where “a continuing membership of minds devoted to the tasks of learning and of the good life inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”[1]. However, this entire narrative changed after 2016 when the university including its students and professors were declared by mainstream media and ruling party as “anti national”…