Mainstream WeeklyWe are witnessing a youth movement that began in the capital and is gaining strength day by day, spreading to different parts of the country while inspiring hope and aspiration among all those who believe in democracy. Sparked by examination irregularities, it continues to draw more students and young people, particularly from the middle class, along with increasing support from India’s liberal intelligentsia.
There is no doubt that this is a youth-led movement of a kind rarely seen in contemporary India, and in that sense, it is unparalleled. Although it began under the leadership of the CJP and has since been taken up by various political organisations, it would be a serious mistake to view it as isolated or without historical continuity.
While today’s youth are fearlessly challenging the Modi government’s actions, two recent movements that helped create this atmosphere of courage must not be forgotten: the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019–20 and the farmers’ protests of 2020–21. These two movements, led largely outside established political parties and traditional organisational structures, provided practical models for the youth-led protests we see today.
The road blockade initiated by a small group of women at Shaheen Bagh on 15 December 2019—in response to police action against Jamia Millia Islamia students—evolved into a massive, sustained protest that lasted over 100 days until the COVID lockdown. Students, intellectuals, and cultural activists from universities across India joined the site and called on opposition parties to oppose the CAA. Though the protest did not prevent the Act’s implementation, Shaheen Bagh demonstrated the potential for long-term, civil society-led resistance.
Similarly, the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws was unprecedented in its scale and impact. Beginning on 25 November 2020, it forced the Modi government to repeal all three laws after nearly a year of determined resistance.
For years, the Sangh Parivar had consolidated control over the state machinery through the erosion of democratic institutions, the creation of fear and division, and the fostering of mutual suspicion among communities. This strategy enabled the government to marginalize dissent by portraying any criticism as anti-national—an approach that proved particularly effective among large sections of the middle class. The Shaheen Bagh and farmers’ protests played a significant role in challenging and partially dispelling this climate of fear.
Together, these two movements confronted what can be described as a form of “constitutional dictatorship”—a system in which the rule of law had been systematically undermined. They offered contemporary India practical demonstrations of how unorganized groups could sustain popular resistance through patience, tolerance, and self-sacrifice.
The current youth struggle represents a powerful synthesis of these earlier movements, further strengthened by the legacy of individual acts of courage and sacrifice—from the martyrdom of Rohith Vemula and Gauri Lankesh to the stands taken by figures such as Umar Khalid and Sanjiv Bhatt. The continuity of resistance against authoritarian tendencies remains the driving force behind such popular awakenings. Though each uprising displays its own distinctive character, none can be fully separated from this broader historical thread.