Neha Bora, the tireless activist who became the face of India’s young protesters: NYT

Neha Bora, a student leader who has become one of the most prominent faces of India’s youth protests, has helped sustain demonstrations against the Indian government through relentless activism, street performances and satirical humour, The New York Times reported.

In a profile published on October 15, the newspaper described how Neha, who uses they/them pronouns and generally goes by one name, continued mobilising protesters even as police repeatedly detained demonstrators across New Delhi.

Over the course of a week, Neha was detained about half a dozen times. They ran through the capital, climbed over barricades and evaded security forces. When police officers dragged them onto a bus, Neha rushed to a window to shout slogans. After being released, they returned to the streets, only to face another police chase.

According to The New York Times, the government's forceful response to the demonstrations found a persistent challenger in the bespectacled student leader, whose determination to continue protesting highlighted the limits of the authorities' efforts to suppress dissent.

As leaders of India's “Cockroach” youth movement were detained and plans for a major demonstration appeared to be falling apart, Neha and other members of leftist student groups helped maintain pressure on the streets. Their experience navigating police crackdowns proved valuable as less experienced protesters joined the demonstrations.

Images of Neha during the protests circulated widely online, helping propel them into the ranks of opposition leaders. They appeared at an opposition rally on Monday, surrounded by thousands of people, and at a news conference the following day alongside dozens of mostly male leaders who were twice their age.

A decade of activism

Long before becoming a prominent face of the protests, Neha had emerged as a voice of India's younger generation, which has been angered by repeated scandals in the education system, a shortage of jobs and the poor state of women's safety on the country's streets, particularly in the capital.

In recent months, however, Gen Z's anger has increasingly focused on the lack of political accountability and the government's failure to address these problems.

Neha has combined public performance and forceful expressions of grievance with the belief that creating space for dissent is an essential first step towards accountability.

“People are not afraid of coming to the streets,” Neha told The New York Times last week in an interview between detentions. “And when that happens, we are rightfully seeing the government is truly on the back foot.”

They said the demonstrations suggested that Modi's more than decade-long hold on power might be weakening. Over the years, the prime minister has cultivated a strongman image while restricting dissent and jailing activists, many of whom have spent years behind bars without trial.

Neha, president of the leftist student group All India Students' Association (AISA), has nevertheless expressed reluctance about becoming the face of a broader movement. They have repeatedly criticised what they describe as the “fetishization” of individuals involved in collective struggles.

Neha was 17 when Modi came to power. Their political outlook developed during a period in which the space for dissent was shrinking, shaped by a decade of activism rooted in leftist politics on university campuses, which have increasingly faced pressure from the government.

“They redrew the limits of democracy, redrew the limits of accountability, redrew the limit of dissent,” Neha said of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power for 12 years.

“Because they were changing definitions, it was taking us time to understand what was exactly happening — what exactly is the playbook that they are setting up for us.”

Organising against police crackdowns

The latest protests followed accusations that Modi's ruling party had manipulated India's voter rolls to secure an unfair electoral advantage. Youth groups across the country had called for what they intended to be their largest demonstration yet against the prime minister.

Police responded by declaring the protests illegal, locking down central parts of New Delhi and detaining organisers.

But members of leftist student groups, including Neha's, had spent days preparing for the confrontation. They tested police responses and the placement of barricades to help less experienced demonstrators gain the confidence to take to the streets.

“They saw how we tackled the barricades, how we tackled detention,” N. Sai Balaji, Neha's predecessor as AISA president, told The New York Times.

Although the authorities prevented a mass mobilisation, smaller demonstrations broke out across different parts of the capital. Student groups used social media to amplify the protests and sustain the impression of widespread public agitation.

“What they fail to understand is that, with the experience we have, we can make the disorganized protest into organized as well,” Balaji said, referring to the government. “We ensured to keep the momentum publicly.”

From street theatre to student politics

Neha grew up in a military household that supported Modi's right-wing BJP. Their decision to embrace leftist politics after enrolling at Delhi University in 2016 created divisions within the family.

Soon after arriving in New Delhi, Neha joined Sangwari, a street theatre group. Deesikha Singh, a senior member of the group, remembered them as “a young kid with zeal to learn”.

Sangwari staged performances in the streets and in underprivileged communities, while also organising discussions on social justice with professors and poets. Through the group, Neha learned to sing and perform and developed their understanding of the issues discussed.

The New York Times noted that social media posts offer glimpses of Neha's early activism. One photograph from a decade ago shows them, with short hair and large spectacles, leading a group of children in a performance. A video from five years ago shows Neha being interviewed at a farmers' protest, holding a cup of tea and appearing impatient with a reporter who repeatedly interrupts them in a patronising tone.

Neha is now a doctoral student in theatre and performance studies.

By the time they rose to lead AISA, the government had already imposed restrictions on protests in New Delhi. Demonstrations at the capital's designated protest site required official permission, which was granted rarely and selectively, according to the report.

The recent wave of youth protests has directly challenged these restrictions. Creating space for dissent and breaking the status quo, however, has required demonstrators to put themselves at risk.

Earlier this year, as anger mounted over an examination leak scandal, Neha joined a hunger strike announced by Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent Indian educator.

After 23 days, Neha had lost more than 15 pounds. Delhi Police initially attempted to disperse the large sit-in around the hunger strikers by force. When that failed, Modi conceded and his education minister resigned.

The episode brought national attention to the youth movement and Neha's role in it.

Satire as a tool of protest

Years of involvement in leftist student politics and street theatre have also given Neha a distinctive approach to protest: satire.

They have used humour to challenge the authority of Modi, whose supporters have increasingly treated him with reverence.

“It's very essential to create a spectacle of power — it is to instill fear in people,” Neha told The New York Times. “But it is also true, and a historical fact, that you can only consolidate it to a certain extent.”

That approach was evident during a weekend confrontation with police that ended with detainees being packed into buses and taken about 20 miles outside New Delhi. They were held for hours in a banquet hall.

In a video described by the newspaper, Neha began chanting, “Delhi Police, give detainees food, give detainees food!” Dozens of other detainees joined in.

Neha then led another chant: “Delhi Police, give detainees chai, give detainees chai!”

The security personnel could be seen smiling.

Neha then improvised another line for the grinning officers: “Delhi Police, feed yourself and feed us, too!”