4 min readNov 2, 2026 06:28 PM IST First published on: Nov 2, 2026 at 06:28 PM ISTAll over the world, people are talking about Gen Z uprisings. Opposition groups in several countries are pinning their hopes on young people taking to the streets to achieve what they themselves could not. Others are riding piggyback on Gen Z and trying to settle scores with their respective establishments. In some countries, Gen Z agitators have struck a popular chord but failed miserably to bring anything substantial to the table. An overview of recent uprisings in countries as diverse as Albania, Bangladesh, Morocco, France and Madagascar suggests that one size simply does not fit all. Besides, creatively talented but thoroughly inexperienced organisers appear largely confused. Understandably, the initial hype surrounding Gen Z is waning everywhere, and India is no exception.About a year ago, an essay by a researcher-blogger at the London School of Economics identified reasons for failed youth uprisings in several countries. Two observations were particularly realistic and remarkable. First, such movements succeed only when governments are weak, divided or vulnerable. Second, Gen Z energy does catalyse momentum, but lasting victories require workers, unions, professionals and older generations to join in. Their absence has proved a major weakness in most cases.AdvertisementAlso Read | Pratap Bhanu Mehta: Gen Z’s parents must answer for their politics, crisis it createdIndia has a long history of semi-organised uprisings that people eventually rejected. The Naxalite movement, for instance, illustrates this. Through violence, Naxalites held some sway over vulnerable sections in certain regions for a limited period. However, their influence remained confined to the margins in a handful of states. Openly Naxalite political parties, too, have failed to secure popular mandates.Those seeking to present themselves as alternatives to established political parties have more often than not failed. Two decades ago, Medha Patkar tried to bring together leaders linked with so-called “mass movements” and form a political platform to contest elections, but failed miserably. Regional outfits invoked language or provincial identity to mobilise people, yet their political impact remained short-lived and geographically limited.Indian society is averse to instability. True, the present youth movement lacks the maturity of serious, cause-driven movements of the past. Even so, some lessons emerge. It was not without reason that freedom fighters reposed confidence in the judiciary of their time. Almost all streams of the freedom movement conducted mass awareness campaigns as part of their groundwork. In the post-Independence era, leaders spearheading movements combined popular education with on-ground activism.AdvertisementManufactured distrust in democratic institutions rarely influences the popular mind in India. People trusted the ECI even when the Prime Minister had sole discretion over the CEC’s appointment. Even during the draconian Emergency, people continued to believe in the judiciary, media and even a truncated Parliament. The Morarji Desai government could easily have reversed Parliament’s decision to add “socialist” and “secular” as adjectives describing the Republic. But it showed remarkable restraint, safeguarding public trust in democratic institutions. The Modi government could have issued an ordinance to take control of land near the Bangladesh border for border check-posts, overcoming Mamata Banerjee’s recalcitrance in the interest of national security. But it did not overstep, again respecting the constitutional framework. Since the Emergency, voters have grown more confident in the power of their ballot. They know they can change governments through elections when they make up their minds.you may likeWe are witnessing a generational divide, not only in society but within families. It is a conflict between the impracticable “here-and-now” approach of the impatient and the “right decision at the right time” approach of those wiser through experience.The moral, then, is clear. Changing governments requires years of hard work and sustained mobilisation of public opinion. India has always rejected frivolous attempts masquerading as popular imagination. There is no place for shortcuts here.The writer is in-charge of Delhi BJP