It's been decades since filmmaker Aashiq Abu left the Students Federation of India. Years later, in 2017, he attended Samaravasantham, an event that the organisation conducted, to protest the institutional murder of engineering student Jishnu Pranoy. That was when he met VP Sanu, SFI's National President, for the first time.
Two years down the line, with Sanu contesting in the Lok Sabha polls from Malappuram, Aashiq decided to kickstart an interesting social media challenge called #SoSanu, where he had asked student activists to share anecdotes about the unionist and let the rest of the world know what sets him apart from the others. "Sanu is a young and energetic man, who is encouraged by the struggles that he'd gone through in his adolescence. So when he is fighting the polls from Malappuram, it is not only the people of Malappuram but also a large student community in India, that is asking you to vote for him. This is hopeful for all the believers of democracy [sic]," Aashiq wrote on Facebook. He also challenged a few, including Vijoo Krishnan, Joint Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, MLA M Swaraj and former SFI Kerala State President Jaick C Thomas. The hashtag gained popularity in no time and many started putting up posts campaigning for Sanu.
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So what was it that prompted Aashiq to start this challenge? He says, "It is quite habitual for student leaders to be exuberant and emotionally agitated while handling issues or speaking in public. But Sanu is quite different." He recalls his first interaction with Sanu. "That was around the time of Jishnu Pranoy's poignant death. The way Sanu handled everything in that protest meeting was mindblowing. He was really mature, both politically and emotionally. Especially at an occasion like this, there are chances for an emotional outburst. That sort of maturity is what one expects from a leader," he adds.
Sanu, on the other hand, says that he had no idea of such a social media campaign happening, until very recently. At the same time, the number of posts was extremely gratifying for him. "I feel really happy to see so many people sharing these posts. It is a great feeling," he says.
