New Delhi: Neha Bora, a 29-year-old PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), has emerged as a prominent face of student-led protests in India.
Videos showing them confronting police barricades, raising slogans and being detained during demonstrations in Delhi have gone viral on social media.
Bora, who uses they/them pronouns, has been associated with AISA, a Left-wing student organisation affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, for several years.
They are pursuing a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at JNU’s School of Arts and Aesthetics, after graduating from Delhi University and completing a master’s degree at Ambedkar University.
Born in Khatima, Uttarakhand, Bora moved between cities during childhood because their father served in the Indian Army.
They have also been involved in Sangwari, a Delhi-based street theatre group, which they say has helped them understand perspectives different from their own.
Bora gained national attention during protests against education reforms and alleged NEET examination paper leaks.
They joined fellow AISA activists in a hunger strike that drew wider attention after activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest. The fast ended on July 20 following an appeal from a delegation of MPs, activists and public figures.
Bora has since participated in demonstrations across several cities and appeared alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at press conferences.
They are also expected to join protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral-roll irregularities. The Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the allegations.
Their activism has also brought controversy. BJP members filed police complaints in Uttar Pradesh over alleged objectionable remarks about the state’s chief minister, while AISA separately complained that Bora had received death threats.
Police also detained a man accused of throwing ink at them during a protest march in Jharkhand.
Bora has described street protests as a significant force behind social change, saying they intend to continue demonstrating to “protect democracy”.
