Generational Communities: Student Activism and the Politics of Becoming in South Asia

The wide resonance of the aphorism, “from shadows to the stars,” closing the 2016 suicide letter of lower caste student activist Rohith Vemula suggests broken hopes for South Asian educated youth. It points at the tragic obstacles to political change and social upliftment experienced by many young people, reflecting a characteristic desire for individual and collective change. The astounding protests that ensued from Rohith’s suicide in India are now contributing to the revival of scholarly i...