Gen Z grievances real, protest is a way of dialogue: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

Referring to the Jantar Mantar protest, which culminated in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union Education Minister, the RSS Sarsanghchalak said the students’ grievances were genuine and underlined the need for reforms in the education system.

Asked if the government should have reached out to Gen Z sooner, Bhagwat said: “Protest is also the way of dialogue. Dialogue kisi bhi democracy mein zaroori hai… Suljhaana aapke haath main hai… Aur ye nahin ho raha hai, tau main chillaunga (Dialogue is important in every democracy… It is up to you to resolve it. And if it is not happening, then I may shout)… So in a democracy, protest is a way to evolve consensus through discussions and dialogue. When this doesn’t happen, it invites protest… But it is a way to evolve consensus, not to create divisions.”

Bhagwat was interacting with founder-president Rishab Shah of India’s International Movement to Unite Nations or IIMUN, a private organisation that holds MUN (Model United Nations) events. Around 2,000 “Gen Z and Gen Alpha” members attended the interaction, held at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.

VIDEO | Mumbai: On being asked about protests and concerns that protesters may be labelled “anti-national”, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while addressing Gen Z and Gen Alpha, says, “…I want to make it clear that if Gen Z engages in any agitation, they are not anti-national. They… pic.twitter.com/XWU9coSnTg

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 6, 2026

“I will not say Gen Z should not do protests. But having said this, Dr B R Ambedkar also specified how to protest,” he said, adding that the younger generation was raising its voice because it faced real problems. “The agitation should be looked at from this perspective and resolved.”

When asked about police action against the students, Bhagwat said: “I don’t want to get into who is responsible and who is behind it. There are aspects which neither myself nor you have complete knowledge of.”

He rejected suggestions that Gen Z was anti-national or influenced by foreign interests. “Agar Gen Z virodh kar rahi hai, toh voh desh-virodhi nahi hai. Weh apne hi log hain, humari agli pidhi. Mujhe lagta hai ki nayi pidhi, Gen Z aur Gen Alpha, hamari maujuda pidhi se zyada imaandar hai. Aur un par deshbhakti aur seva ki honest appeal ka asar hota hai (If Gen Z is protesting, it is not anti-national. They are our people, our next generation. I think this new generation, Gen Z, Alpha, is more honest than our current generation. It responds to the right appeals of patriotism and service).”

When his generation was of the age of Gen Z, it would listen to what the elders had to say, Bhagwat said, it would not question. “Now Gen Z, Alpha asks questions, seeks logical answers. And along with it, it needs pyaar (affection).”

Speaking on unemployment, a concern that was articulated during the Jantar Mantar protest, Bhagwat urged young people to look beyond government jobs and embrace entrepreneurship, while regretting the lack of dignity of labour. “Unemployment is not the sole domain of the government. Society will have to come forward to redefine it,” he said.

On education, Bhagwat said it should never become a commercial enterprise and called for sweeping reforms covering fee structures, teacher training and curriculum. “Education is for building Gen Z, and not making money,” he said, while supporting the long-pending demand to raise public spending on education to 6% of the GDP. “It is justified.”

While this was the RSS’s most significant outreach towards Gen Z since the Jantar Mantar protest, the BJP too has stepped up similar efforts, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the lead via Instagram messages and posts.

In another significant remark, when asked about same-sex marriage and the LGBTQ+ community, Bhagwat said: “Don’t say same-sex marriage. We have to devise some system by which same-sex companions can live together. A law can be made for that, and society can accept it.”

The Sangh has consistently maintained that LGBTQIA+ persons are “a part of society to which we belong”, he said. But marriage “is a unit of society where the next generation is trained to become good citizens”. “If we disturb the existing system without creating a new one, it could lead to conflict… We have to prepare society first… At this stage, if we tamper with the marriage system, it may create side effects. We need to prepare a system that accommodates all such people,” Bhagwat said.

Answering a question on what defines true leadership, Bhagwat cited a Sanskrit verse describing, what he called, essential attributes that make a good leader – team work, knowledge, appreciation for the qualities of others, generosity to share success, fame and material gains with everyone, and ability to act like a warrior when faced with conflict.

Bhagwat said: “Real leaders are those who lead from behind. They work from within.” Emphasising that leadership should not be viewed as standing before people, making speeches or winning elections, he said the purpose of leadership was to lead people to “light”, “to create leaders”. “It is not to lead by myself. My leadership should create leaders.”

Asked if all these aspects were integral to his working style, Bhagwat said: “I don’t see myself as a leader. I believe and work as a karyakarta (party worker)…

On reservation, Bhagwat said it should continue as long as discrimination persists in society, but that it was meant for the upliftment of the disadvantaged and “was not a permanent arrangement”.

Lamenting that reservation gets “politicised”, and this “creates bad blood”, Bhagwat said: “In reality, it was introduced for social unity. The intention of the measure was wrongfully twisted by those who wield the sword intentionally… If we honestly follow Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s advice, then there is no problem… As long as social discrimination continues, reservation will exist.”

But, he said, beneficiaries of reservation who have “progressed” should consider foregoing further benefits voluntarily so that others could avail of the opportunities. “Sub-categorisation is in demand and even the Supreme Court has stated similarly. Reservation is for upliftment and is not a permanent measure. Encourage such a stream and keep aside politics. If all measures are implemented honestly, the need for reservation would end soon. Then we will think about it.”

Asked whether social media should be banned for the young, the RSS chief said this was not a solution, calling for self-discipline. “Today technology can create fake videos using our faces and voices. Knowing this, people should never believe anything on social media without verifying it from authentic sources… If you ban something, it simply moves to the black market and spreads even more,” Bhagwat said.

He also urged social media influencers to bear responsibility towards their followers too. “If I am a social media icon and 10 lakh people follow me, it becomes my responsibility to ensure they do not end up in a problem by following me.”

Among those present at the event were actor Boman Irani, industrialists Nadir Godrej and Ajay Piramal, banker Deepak Parekh, choreographer Shiamak Davar, authors Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi, former Army chief Gen V P Malik, ex-ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar, athletes P T Usha and Saina Nehwal, former Bihar governor Arif Mohammed Khan, and ex-Union minister Harsh Vardhan.