India’s recent student protests over alleged irregularities in education and examination paper leaks have brought the “Azadi” slogan back into public focus. Authorities sent workers on July 26 to erase protest graffiti near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. A day earlier, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned amid a movement led by the Cockroach Janata Party against an examination scandal. The protest entrance carried the words “#2026 Gen-Z Revolution!!!”, while Azadi, or freedom, became a central call for education reform and rights.

During the protests, a 20-year-old climbed a tree and played the song “Azadi” through a powerful loudspeaker, prompting the crowd to sing along and raise their hands. The song gained renewed attention after video of police personnel beating students on Parliament Street spread quickly. The slogan also reached Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai. Left-wing student groups, including AISA and the Students’ Federation of India, helped sustain the movement.

The slogan had provoked intense political controversy at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2016, when students faced sedition allegations and arrests. The report traces its modern political roots to feminist resistance in Pakistan and resistance in Kashmir. Students in the current movement describe Azadi as a symbol of education, fundamental rights, freedom of expression and political change.