This JNU student is deleting social media posts in panic. ‘Don’t know what will offend US’

'There’s no manual on what is considered semitic and what is anti-semitic for them. So, I don’t want to take the risk,' the scholar said

Jawaharlal Nehru University | Commons

New Delhi: Weeks after his postdoctoral appointment was quietly put on hold by a US university, a 32-year-old PhD student at Jawaharlal Nehru University has begun deleting his social media posts. A post reading “All eyes on Rafah”: a pro-Palestine slogan, a count of civilian casualties in Gaza, an article he shared on rising Right-wing authoritarianism. All gone.

But he still doesn’t think it’s enough. Now, he’s considering deleting his Facebook and Instagram accounts entirely.

“You don’t know what will offend them,” said the life sciences scholar from West Bengal, referring to US immigration authorities.

The Donald Trump administration has halted new appointments for student visas. The US plans to conduct social media vetting for all such applications, according to a cable sent by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that has been accessed by Politico. This comes against the backdrop of anti-immigration stance solidifying under Trump with frequent deportations and revocation of student visas. Indian students who form a big chunk of the annual intake at US universities are an anxious lot, cleaning their social media slates of any views that can damage their US dream.

“There’s no manual on what is considered semitic and what is anti-semitic for them. There’s no clarity on what they will allow or won’t. So, I don’t want to take the risk,” the scholar said, who has also uninstalled the applications from his phone.

The Mamu Dhaba in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus is abuzz with discussions on the visa restrictions, and the conversations have shifted from thesis submissions to understanding how to navigate the future.

Rubio has reportedly said the department “plans to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants after a review is completed,” and has advised consular sections to halt the scheduling of such visa appointments in the meantime.

“It is the decline of liberalism. The universities were imagined as a part of the traditional liberal space, and they didn’t fall under government control. But now, these countries, be it the USA or Turkey, even India, don’t believe in the idea of autonomous universities. So, they have come around to asking the question – if we are funding you, why should we tolerate ideas that we do not agree with,” said Political Theorist and Associate Professor at JNU, Ajay Gudavarthy.

End of US hegemony?

It was six months ago when the 32-year-old student mentioned above began applying for postdoctoral positions in the US. The first thing he did was delete his X account. The decision came after a long discussion with friends in his room at the Brahmaputra hostel in JNU. During the conversation, calls were made to peers already pursuing research in the US.

“They told me X is the first thing US authorities check,” he recalled. “So if you really want to study here, delete the account. So, I went ahead and did it.”

He had applied for post-doctoral positions at the University of Florida, University of California, University of San Francisco, and the University of South Carolina. While he’s still waiting for decisions from most places he applied to, one university got back to him within a month. A professor there was interested in his work.

“I was told I’m a bright scholar,” he said. And just like that, the US dream began to feel real.

But it didn’t last. A month ago, the same professor wrote back saying they could no longer appoint him—the funds had been frozen. “We just don’t have the money. But we will keep you posted in case something changes,” the scholar recalls the email he received.

That night was a difficult one—not just because the opportunity had retreated midway. But because he had also encouraged his colleagues to apply to US universities.

Last month, the US state department froze around $2.3 billion in “federal funds to Harvard University” after the Ivy League school decided to fight against the White House’s demands, including “shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs.” It’s only one of the universities affected.

Over the sips of tea, the discussion between the scholar and his friends at Mamu Dhaba often circles back to one point— how the series of crackdowns spells out the beginning of the end for US hegemony.

“The US thinks Indians are eating their jobs. But the reality is, they aren’t capable enough — they need Indians in their tech innovation sector,” the scholar’s friend said. “In trying to shut us out, they’re only harming themselves.”

The US wasn’t his first choice. He wanted to work in India, but there aren’t many such opportunities in his domain.

“You don’t get a job here unless you’re someone’s favourite or have the right recommendation. After several failed attempts, I thought the US was my calling,” he said. He’s still hopeful that he will hear back from the rest of the universities he’s applied to.

Conditional visas

Not a member of any student union, the PhD student always voted for All India Students Association (AISA), students’ wing of the Left-wing CPI (M-L) affiliate. His ideology, he agreed, was shaped by the left-wing politics on the university campus. And his now-deleted social media reflected the same. But not anymore.

Professor Gudavarthy called the US crackdown on foreign students “surveillance capitalism” and a “complete breakdown of the rule of law”.

“The problem is that we don’t know what is to be stated, what is not to be stated. Anybody can be clamped down on the basis of what they have said. So, this surveillance is bringing a new kind of arbitrariness. Social media, which we thought was an explosion of communication, a revolution for greater communication, progress and opportunities, is actually flowing in reverse order,” he said.

The scholar is rethinking his plans. His reconsideration is also shaped by what happened to a friend during a recent visa interview. Though the incident took place two months ago, the scholar only learned about it last night during a conversation with the friend, now in the US.

“He said he was made to promise during the visa interview that he wouldn’t participate in any protest or political activity while at the university, or his appointment will be cancelled,” the scholar said.

Trump has accused many US universities, including Harvard, of having far-Left ideologies.

“Another friend has already been sent back after just three months. His appointment was cancelled, and now no other university wants to take students whose offers have been revoked. There’s so much fear.”

This chain of events has also made him question the very purpose of his academic training — and what it means to be a scholar.

“I’m a scholar. A mature person. I have a mind. I think. And what I think, I express. But now, even that expression is being snatched away,” he said. “They’re saying — if you think the way we want you to think, you will sail through.”

He paused and said: “But to stop thinking — that’s the greatest violence.”

And then he rhymes his thoughts with the famous soliloquy from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, where the writer says, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)