Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid talk about nationalism on stand-up comic Kunal Kamra's show

Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra recently invited Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid on his chat show 'Shut Up Ya Kunal' on YouTube with the aim of providing them an opportunity to speak their mind.

The show highlighted that after the February 2016 JNU incident, two names - Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid - were perceived as anti-national hooligans against this nation, instead of their designation, a 'student'.

The episode highlighted how trolls have been working around on Facebook and Twitter, how universities have prescribed a different set of rules to male and female students with a biased attitude, issue of reservation and more.

The episode also provided an interesting insight into the concept of 'nationalism' - "the way nationalism has been redefined and reduced down to just a phrase 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'."

They also talked about the way brands are capitalising using patriotism as a tool for selling their products and maximising profits.

Kanhaiya said, "It is way different from the days when nationalism evolved during the freedom struggle. In the past, nation building was our aim with the help of nationalism, whereas presently, hatred seems to be the target under the cover of nationalism. It's like creating an enemy unnecessarily."

As the episode proceeded, a more human side of Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar came to the fore. Through the episode, it was projected that they are just ordinary students of one of the best universities that India has to offer.

The episode worked as a chance for the "students" to clarify and talk about all the allegations against them.

Khalid was blamed for raising "anti-national" slogans inside the JNU campus and Kumar as the JNUSU president was accused for holding a talk on Afzal Guru.

Following this, the students were charged with charges of sedition by the Delhi Police, but due to lack conclusive evidence, they were released on interim bail.