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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat told an audience of more than 2,000 students, most aged between 15 and 20, on Thursday said that youngsters who protest are not “anti-nationals”.
The RSS is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking at an event at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Centre in Mumbai, Bhagwat said that the grievances of the youngsters were genuine and reflected shortcomings in the education system.
“If the Gen Z is agitating, they certainly are not anti-nationals,” NDTV quoted Bhagwat as saying. “They are our own people, our next generation.”
He said that while previous generations did as told, the “Gen Z and Gen Alpha want logical answers”.
“Gen Z” refers to persons born between the late 1990s and 2010. “Gen Alpha” are persons born between 2010 and 2024.
Bhagwat’s comments come after nationwide student protests last month led to the resignation of BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister on July 25. That prompted the RSS to launch a youth outreach campaign.
The protests against alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations had begun on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign staged a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand that Pradhan resign.
On July 20, thousands joined the protest. This came two days after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for three weeks, to hospital.
The protesters’ march to Parliament was met with a crackdown by the police. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis, fired tear gas shells and pellet guns against the demonstrators. The police action turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country.
The Cockroach Janta Party had agreed to call off the protests after Pradhan’s resignation.
Bhagwat said that he does not have answers to what happened when the police lathi-charged protestors at Jantar Mantar or why it happened. “We need to look into why this happened and what led to it,” he said.
Bhagwat said that he understood why students chose to protest, adding that “conversation did not initially work” with the government.
Describing the Gen Z as “more honest” than previous generations, Bhagwat urged them to choose role models who do not promote violence.
“If Gen Z do not subscribe to violence, then why do they follow role models who are violent?” he asked.
Bhagwat also called for greater public investment in education and said that there is a need to train teachers.
He also addressed the LGBTQ demands for same sex marriage. “LGBTQ is part of the society to which we belong,” he said. “In our society we accommodate them.”
But marriage, he added, is not a convenience created for two people to live together. “It is an institution to create a family,” Bhagwat asserted. “Next generations are trained to be good citizens by these family…If we disrupt existing system, that will create conflict.” Instead, he suggested a law to allow people of the same sex to live together and not marry.
“If we tamper with marriage system that will create other side effects,” he said.
The RSS chief also spoke about India’s ties with its neighbours. “Pakistan was part of India less than 100 years ago,” he said. “That should not be forgotten.” He said that while ties with Pakistan cannot be severed, they can be kept on hold until the conflict was resolved.
“Permanent hatred and permanent enmity is not the solution,” he said. But he added that until the conflict is resolved, students and civil society members from Pakistan should be invited to India.
Bhagwat’s remarks did not impress everyone in the audience. Niwas Rajagopal, a 16-year-old student who had travelled from Puducherry to attend the event, said that while he had not participated in any local protests, the cause to protest was genuine.
“The government responded very late,” he said. “The protest and its reasons were fair. How police acted in Delhi, using expired tear gas, was brutal.”
But Rajagopal said that he expected more “honest answers” from Bhagwat. “We realise what is political and what is genuine,” the Class 11 student said. “His address seemed more for political gains.”
Tarun Kumar, a 15-year-old student, said that while he did not support the protest at Jantar Mantar and did not endorse the demand for education minister ‘s resignation, he felt disappointed in the RSS chief, especially his position on LGBTQ rights.
“RSS is the right hand of the government,” said Kumar. If this is the thought process, no wonder students are enraged with BJP.”
Inputs by Tabassum Barnagarwala. Edited by Sara Varghese.
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