New Delhi: As the Cockroach Janta Party’s month-long student protest continues at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, music has become one of its defining features.
Students have been protesting alleged irregularities in the examination system and demanding accountability from the government over the NEET paper leak, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Since the sit-in began, music has emerged as a recurring thread—sometimes sung collectively by protesters, sometimes played from the stage, and often used to soundtrack reels documenting the movement and the police action against it.
From Hindi film tracks to older protest anthems, here are the songs that have become part of the CJP protest’s playlist.
- Hum Dekhenge
Written by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1979 and immortalised by Iqbal Bano’s rendition, Hum Dekhenge has long been one of South Asia’s defining protest anthems.
At Jantar Mantar, protesters have gathered to sing the poem together.
- Sandese Aate Hain
Composed by Anu Malik and sung by Sonu Nigam and Roop Kumar Rathod, the Border (1997) classic has also been sung collectively by protesters.
- Give Me Some Sunshine
The 3 Idiots (2009) song has become one of the most recognisable singalongs of the protest. A film about the pressures of India’s education system has found an obvious resonance at a protest led by students.
- Jai Ho
A.R. Rahman’s Academy Award-winning anthem from Slumdog Millionaire (2008) has also been sung collectively by protesters during the sit-in.
- Vande Mataram
A.R. Rahman’s rendition of “Vande Mataram” (1997) was among the patriotic songs played from the stage during the early days of the protest.
- Chak De! India
The title track from Shah Rukh Khan’s 2007 sports drama also featured among the songs played during the early days of the sit-in.
- Khoon Chala
A.R. Rahman’s Khoon Chala from Rang De Basanti (2006) has become one of the songs used in reels documenting the protest–the lathi-charges as well as the crowd turnout
- Aarambh Hai Prachand
Piyush Mishra’s Aarambh Hai Prachand (2009) has appeared in multiple CJP reels documenting the movement, making it one of the songs most closely associated with the protest online.
- Sadda Haq
The Rockstar (2011) anthem has also featured in CJP’s own social media videos from the protest.
- Where Is the Love?
The Black Eyed Peas’ hit from 2003 was sung by students during a solidarity protest in Aizawl, Mizoram, one of several demonstrations held in support of the CJP movement outside Delhi.
Whether sung by students gathered at Jantar Mantar, played over loudspeakers or used to accompany reels documenting the sit-in, these songs have become part of the movement’s identity. Widely described as a Gen Z protest, the CJP movement has largely found its voice in songs that predate the generation leading it.
Tarini Unnikrishnan is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism, currently interning at ThePrint.
(Edited by Stela Dey)