Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that youngsters who protest are not “anti-nationals”, NDTV reported.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Bhagwat said that the grievances of the youngsters were genuine and reflected shortcomings in the education system.

The RSS chief was speaking to an audience of more than 2,000 students, most of them aged between 15 and 20, at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Centre in Mumbai.

“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 added that he understood why students chose to protest, saying 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.

His 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.

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.

Inputs by Tabassum Barnagarwala. Edited by Sara Varghese.

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