Class 11 Springdales student speech against Modi govt is viral. ‘Uncle padhao, beti bachao’

In the speech, Kiara Aggarwal recalled iconic slogans from India’s freedom struggle including, “Simon, Go Back” and “Inquilab Zindabad,” and went on to contrast them with the present-day political slogans.

In the speech, Kiara Aggarwal recalled iconic slogans from India’s freedom struggle including, “Simon, Go Back” and “Inquilab Zindabad,” and went on to contrast them with the present-day political slogans. (Image: Viral video)

New Delhi: Kiara Aggarwal, a Class 11 student from Springdales School in Delhi, has gone viral for a speech she delivered at an inter-school competition at Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya in Jaipur.

“Sorry sir, maaf kariye ache din dhoond rahi thi, mil nahi rahe hai, thoda sa samaye lagega dhoondne mei (Apologies for the delay, I was looking for the promised good days,” she opened, to a loud applause from the audience.

In the speech, she recalled iconic slogans from India’s freedom struggle including, “Simon, Go Back” and “Inquilab Zindabad,” and went on to contrast them with the present-day political slogans.

“These slogans didn’t just create vote banks, they created revolutions,” Aggarwal said. She added that the present generation is busy making reels. “Today’s slogans are not a problem, but when there is no actionable change, that becomes one,” she said.

Aggarwal argued that repeated messaging creates an “illusory truth effect,” where familiarity is mistaken for truth while real issues remain unaddressed.

She even spoke about how films have become a medium to further political agenda. “Sometimes the Prime Minister makes a cameo in Dhurandhar, and other times Ranveer is shooting guns,” she said passionately in Hindi. She also mentioned PM Modi reaching out to the GenZ with “friends” through Instagram reels. “Today we are not just citizens, we are the audience in a play,” she said.

Kiara’s rendition of political slogans

Aggarwal brought up the case of the 15-year-old girl, who faced police action and was made to issue a public apology after allegedly raising derogatory slogans against the prime minister during a protest. She questioned the intensity of the response, asking why similar urgency was not shown in cases involving serious crimes committed against young girls.

During her speech, Aggarwal shared her own interpretation and renditions of popular government schemes and initiatives. She suggested that the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign be renamed to “Uncle padhao, beti bachao.”

She played on the “Make in India” slogan, and called it “Leak in India” amid allegations of recurring examination paper leaks. She even criticised heavy spending on public relations and marketing, at the expense of actual work on the ground.

“If you spent as much on work, as you do on PR and marketing, at least I would have had evidence to hold up for my speech,” Aggarwal said.

Clips of her spread rapidly on social media. It also caught the attention of Former Rajya Sabha MP and ex-Congress General Secretary, who reposted the video on his Facebook account, and wrote, “Kiara didn’t just speak. She held up a mirror. Watch this girl carefully. The next generation is not confused. They are simply done being gaslit.”

(Edited by Aakriti Handa)