A knock at democracy’s door

Protests are usually conceived as a form of posturing that reflects public anger, through various aggressive and, at times, violent means. The recent youth protests are also reminiscent of the “young angry man” archetype. That image, conveying the anger of youths, turned into a popular perception thanks to a trend of Hindi movies in the 1970s. Prior to that, British literature in the 1950s and several labour, student, and youth movements in the ’60s and ’70s prepared the canvas for the depiction of the young angry man in India’s popular culture.

Mix of contradictory emotions

There is a popular perception that protest is possible merely through aggression and violent anger. But, especially in post-90s India, the popular psyche began to reflect expressions of protest in multiple forms. Besides, over time, the expressions combined many contradictory and overlapping bhavas (feelings), such as anger with joy and laughter, complaints with satire, agitation with carnival, and aggression with reels.

A good example of it was observed in the Gen Z movements over education in Jantar Mantar, Jharkhand, and elsewhere in the country. They ruptured a conventional notion of protest where anger, aggression, or even violence is predominant. The contradictory mix of feelings and actions in the protest movements also contributed to a profusion of virtual culture material. If we look back at the biggest student-led movements in the past, including the ones that erupted around the time of Emergency, a display blending binary forms and feelings was rare. Earlier, protests mostly channelled anger and violent acts such as damaging trains or public property and laying siege to official residences.

That said, such mixing or mishmash in protest movements are not new but have been practised in various parts of the world for ages. Literary critic and philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin (Rabelais and His World) and anthropologist James C Scott (Weapons of the Weak) have shown in their works how protest actions used laughter, parody, mimicry, and mockery in medieval festivals in European societies. The use of masks, satirical reels, laughter, parody, and celebrative postures by students in India became one of their distinctive features this year. They are, however, identified as pre-political forms of dissent.

Pre-political to political: Question of longevity and fragility

It is true that Gen Z and even Gen Alpha movements have had success in creating pressure on the government. But questions arise as to whether such agitations, laden with pre-political elements, have the capacity to become political? What is the future of such movements? Can they evolve into a long-term transformative movement in India?

One observation is that they mostly are assertions demanding urgent, immediate solutions to specific problems. As a result, they appear reformative in their nature and lack transformative qualities. Any pressure group, as desired by Cockroach Janta Party Founder Abhijit Dipke, to reform the system may not be able to sustain itself without a long-term vision.

Secondly, their heavy reliance on pre-political forms of protests certainly helps in spreading awareness but that may not translate into an organised movement. Scholars identify these modes of dissent as short-term and transitory, lacking in longevity.

Thirdly, as of now such protests are scattered and dispersed across various parts of India. They are emanating from immediate concerns such as exam paper leaks and sanctity of employment-centred exams and competitions. If the administrative system responds well to the immediate demands, the movements may die out.

Political parties that are in the opposition, such as the Congress, may try to give them some life in order to achieve their own political goals. But it is difficult to say whether they will succeed in sustaining them for long. The protests are driven by social media which, by its very nature, generates an impact on the public psyche that is immediate, rapidly changing, fractured, and fragile.

Many fragments, one whole

It is true that as a cohort Gen Z has a similar mindset, but it is equally true that in India we have multiple Gen Zs. Whether youths who are part of diverse categories such as caste, class, religion, region, urban, and rural may continue to identify with one uniform grouping at the national level for long is debatable. They have their own issues that are local and regional, and political parties and social groups also largely cater to Gen Z constituencies of their own. The access of these groups to students and youths may split a generation in one way or another. It must be said that bringing multiple fragments to form one whole is possible but difficult in the long run in a diverse society like India. Social media and other forms of media are also able to raise local concerns as national ones, yet such a transformation — from the digital and virtual to the physical arena — may not materialise consistently.

There is also a question mark about the ability of these protests to build an alternative politics in India. Our democratic politics is flexible and vibrant, full of adaptability and with a capacity of co-opt. There is always a possibility of student leaders joining mainstream political parties or forming new outfits, much like the Aam Aadmi Party was borne out of a movement against corruption.

Nevertheless, in their incipient forms, these protests have knocked hard on the door of democracy. That might just compel the governance system and administration at various levels to become more sensitive and inclusive.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Financial Express.