As the dusk of Republic Day fell and dazzling lights began to flood the Jhelum Lawn of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), hundreds of students thronged International Food Festival. I, too, joined the crowd and walked along one stall after another, looking at mouthwatering cuisines. But later the evening, before I came out of the festival’s marquee, I had felt that the venue displayed not only foods but also aspiration, identity, struggle and culture of a subjugated people.