A recent clip of an Indian-origin Oxford student has gone viral for his speech against Pakistan during a recently held debate.
The India-Pakistan debate is ever-going, not just from official sides, but in almost every other facet, be it sports, music, economy and so much more.
The clip going viral has the Indian student demolishing the Pakistani side, criticising the country and defending India’s policy towards its neighbour.
His remarks resonated widely on social media, amassing millions of views within days and sparking heated online discussion.
But who is this student, and what did he say that went so viral?
Who Is Viraansh Bhanushali And Why Did He Go Viral?
The student in question is Viraansh Bhanushali, a Mumbai-born student pursuing a B.A. in Jurisprudence with Law Studies in Europe at St Peter’s College, University of Oxford. The clip he was seen speaking in is from an Oxford Union debate on the motion that “This House believes that India’s policy towards Pakistan is a populist strategy sold as security policy.”
The debate was conducted Non ovember 27, just a day after the horrifying 26/11 terror attacks of Mumbai, where 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from Pakistan launched a large-scale attack across major spots in the city, ultimately leading to the death of 250 people.
Bhanushali led the Indian side of the debate, facing off against Moosa Harraj, representing the Pakistani side. Harraj is the son of Pakistan’s federal defence production minister, Muhammad Raza Hayat Harraj.
Bhanushali opened his speech, sharing a personal account of how his aunt, saying how “One of those targets was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the very station that my aunt passed through almost every evening. By chance or by providence, she took a different train home that night, narrowly escaping the fate of the 166 souls that did not…”
He added, “I was a schoolboy then, glued to the television as my city burnt. I remember the fear in my mother’s voice on the phone, the tension in my father’s clenched jaw. For three nights, Mumbai did not sleep and neither did I.”
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“This House Believes That India’s Policy Towards Pakistan Is a Populist Disguise for Security Policy.”
Viraansh Bhanushali, a law student from Mumbai at the University of Oxford, delivered a compelling opposition speech in the Oxford Union debate on the motion “This House… pic.twitter.com/RWbAw5MfOv
— Augadh (@AugadhBhudeva) December 22, 2025
He recounted another incident when a railway station near his home was attacked in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, saying, “257 people died… Was there an election in March 1993? No. That election was 3 years away… Terror did not come because we needed a vote. It came because Dawood and the ISI wanted to fracture India’s financial spine. That was not populism. That was an act of war.”
He further said, “So when someone claims that India’s tough stance towards Pakistan is merely populism masquerading as security policy, you might understand why I bristle.”
His most famous and viral line from the speech was when he said, “We have learnt it the hard way, you cannot shame a state that has no shame.”
On the topic of Operation Sindoor, Bhanushali said, “We punished the perpetrators. And then what? We stopped. We did not invade. We did not occupy. That is not populism. That is professionalism.”
He also brought up Pakistan’s economic problems, saying, “You cannot give your people bread, so you give them the circus,” and adding, “But until the state that defends itself stops using terror as an instrument of foreign policy, we will keep our powder dry. If that is populism, then I am a populist.”
Bhanushali is enrolled in the BA Jurisprudence (with Law Studies in Europe) programme at Oxford and has been actively involved in student life and debating culture.
At the Oxford Union, he has held roles such as Chief of Staff to the Union President, International Officer, and Deputy Returning Officer.
He has also been involved in extracurricular organisations like co-founding the student initiative of The Oxford Majilis in October 2023, and has interned with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service and for the Additional Solicitor General of India, reflecting a keen interest in law, policy, and public discourse.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Firstpost, Hindustan Times, Moneycontrol
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