Mr Bhagwat’s position may help defuse the confusion the followers of right-wing politics and a section of the media have about the young protesters. They have already constructed and propagated theories that CJP protesters are anti-nationals and traitors who have taken money from foreign funding agencies and enemies of the nation to undermine it
The confusion created by the youth of the country who took to the streets under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party in the thinking of political parties is becoming evident every passing day. While the government saved its skin by conceding the major demands of the protesters, the other organisations are still processing the phenomenon.
The statement of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday that Generation Z should not be viewed as anti-national, certifying them to be more honest and sincere than the older generations, must be viewed in this background. Mr Bhagwat, who heads an organisation with Hindutva at its core, widely believed to be the ideological fountainhead of the BJP, went on to say that the protesters “are our own people and the next generation”; they have a “genuine commitment to patriotism and service” and that “dialogue should be held with them in a warm and friendly manner”.
The fact of the matter is that the right to protest is a fundamental right the Constitution has made available to the people; it’s a duty of the democratic government to hold talks with them in a “warm and friendly manner”. It is for the government to look into the issues they have raised and solve them in a manner most acceptable to them. If it requires systemic change, it is for the government to initiate them. The government is not doing the protesters a favour by doing so. They have made it very plain that a condescending attitude and talking down do not work with them; they ask for straight and honest dialogue.
Mr Bhagwat’s position may help defuse the confusion the followers of right-wing politics and a section of the media have about the young protesters. They have already constructed and propagated theories that CJP protesters are anti-nationals and traitors who have taken money from foreign funding agencies and enemies of the nation to undermine it, that they are no patriots and that they have no commitment to service. The RSS’s nuanced position may help them see reason and perhaps view the entire episode from the right perspective, instead of the rightist one.
But Mr Bhagwat’s revelations make hardly sense to Gen Z and Gen Alpha whom he tried to address. They are two generations that cannot be unsettled by throwing words such as “traitors” and “anti-nationals” which may have worked with the previous generations who now direct the nation’s polity. People who work within the framework of the law and the Constitution and those who take up causes which the government has failed to address demand honest attempts to fulfil them. Taking recourse of endless political arguments and counter-arguments is not their habit. It will be good if the government and the RSS which guides it understand this fundamental character of Gen Z whom they call the “future of the country”.
