{"id":49173,"date":"2026-09-20T04:35:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T04:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/?p=49173"},"modified":"2026-09-20T04:35:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T04:35:41","slug":"meet-viraansh-bhanushali-the-mumbai-born-oxford-law-student-whose-speech-went-viral-and-is-now-in-the-brics-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/?p=49173","title":{"rendered":"Meet Viraansh Bhanushali: The Mumbai-born Oxford law student whose speech went viral and is now in the BRICS spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134363355,imgsize-1014055,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/mumbai-born-viraansh-bhanushali-studied-law-at-the-university-of-oxford.jpg\" alt=\"Meet Viraansh Bhanushali: The Mumbai-born Oxford law student whose speech went viral and is now in the BRICS spotlight\" title=\"Mumbai-born Viraansh Bhanushali studied law at the University of Oxford\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Mumbai-born Viraansh Bhanushali studied law at the University of Oxford\">Mumbai-born Viraansh Bhanushali studied law at the University of Oxford<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Viraansh Bhanushali first caught the internet\u2019s attention with a speech at the Oxford Union. Now, the Mumbai-born Oxford law graduate has found himself in the spotlight again after appearing as a youth speaker at the 18th <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/brics-summit\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">BRICS Summit<\/a> in New Delhi, where he spoke about India\u2019s place in a changing global order. <!-- -->But before the BRICS stage, it was his confident arguments on India\u2019s policy towards Pakistan at Oxford that made him a familiar name on social media.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>Bhanushali, who studied law at the University of Oxford, became widely discussed after a video of his Oxford Union debate began circulating online. His speech, delivered during a debate on India\u2019s policy towards Pakistan, drew attention for its references to India\u2019s security concerns as well as his personal memories of the 26\/11 Mumbai attacks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>From <keyword id=\"39437085\" type=\"Denny\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"Mumbai-to-Oxford\" source=\"keywords\">Mumbai to Oxford<\/keyword><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Bhanushali grew up in Mumbai and later moved to the UK for higher education. At Oxford, he pursued BA Jurisprudence at St Peter\u2019s College, while also becoming involved in the Oxford Union, one of the world\u2019s best-known student debating societies.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>His time at the Union gave him a platform to engage with questions around politics, foreign policy and international affairs. He served as its Chief of Staff and was involved in several of its activities. It was one particular debate, however, that pushed him into the wider public eye.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>The speech that went viral<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The motion was: \u201cThis House Believes That India&#8217;s Policy Towards Pakistan Is a Populist Disguise for Security Policy.\u201d Bhanushali spoke against the motion, drawing on India&#8217;s history of terror attacks and his own memories of the 26\/11 Mumbai attacks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>His arguments, exchanges during the debate and delivery began circulating across social media, prompting interest in the young law student behind the speech.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>For Bhanushali, the episode marked a sudden shift from being known primarily within Oxford\u2019s debating circles to being recognised by audiences in India.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>From the Oxford Union to BRICS<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>That visibility has since taken him to a very different stage. At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Bhanushali appeared as a youth speaker and discussed issues including BRICS, India-China relations and the role of the Global South. His appearance put him in a setting far removed from the Oxford debating chamber where many Indians first encountered him.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Viraansh Bhanushali\u2019s Oxford Union speech sparked widespread attention online&lt;br&gt;\" msid=\"134363369\" imgsize=\"1122737\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"\u200bViraansh Bh\u200banushali\u2019s Oxford Union speech sparked widespread attention online\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-1122737,msid-134363369\/viraansh-bhanushalis-oxford-union-speech-sparked-widespread-attention-onlinebr.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u200bViraansh Bh\u200banushali\u2019s Oxford Union speech sparked widespread attention online<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>There is also a more personal element to his journey as a public speaker. In a post reflecting on his Oxford Union experience, Bhanushali has spoken about growing up with a stammer and working to become comfortable with public speaking. He described his voice as something that was \u201cbuilt, not gifted\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>The detail offers a glimpse of the journey behind the confident speaker seen in the viral clips- one that involved finding his voice over time.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Also, Bhanushali is back in the news for another reason. After graduating with a law degree from the University of Oxford, he is relocating to New Delhi to start his legal practice.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/life-style\/people\/meet-viraansh-bhanushali-the-mumbai-born-oxford-law-student-whose-speech-went-viral-and-is-now-in-the-brics-spotlight\/articleshow\/134363345.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mumbai-born Viraansh Bhanushali studied law at the University of Oxford Viraansh Bhanushali first caught the internet\u2019s attention with a speech at the Oxford Union. Now, the Mumbai-born Oxford law graduate has found himself in the spotlight again after appearing as a youth speaker at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where he spoke about&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ayudawp_aiss_exclude":false,"_ayudawp_aiss_exclude_summary":false,"_ayudawp_aiss_summary":"But before the BRICS stage, it was his confident arguments on India\u2019s policy towards Pakistan at Oxford that made him a familiar name on social media.Bhanushali, who studied law at the University of Oxford, became widely discussed after a video of his Oxford Union debate began circulating online. At Oxford, he pursued BA Jurisprudence at St Peter\u2019s College, while also becoming involved in the Oxford Union, one of the world\u2019s best-known student debating societies.His time at the Union gave him a platform to engage with questions around politics, foreign policy and international affairs. The motion was: \u201cThis House Believes That India's Policy Towards Pakistan Is a Populist Disguise for Security Policy.\u201d Bhanushali spoke against the motion, drawing on India's history of terror attacks and his own memories of the 26\/11 Mumbai attacks.His arguments, exchanges during the debate and delivery began circulating across social media, prompting interest in the young law student behind the speech.For Bhanushali, the episode marked a sudden shift from being known primarily within Oxford\u2019s debating circles to being recognised by audiences in India.","_ayudawp_aiss_summary_provider":"extractive","_ayudawp_aiss_summary_hash":"8d297dd3e1d2f9243d726aba7578772a4ef58ac4","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-style"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}