4 min readJul 26, 2026 06:23 AM IST First published on: Jul 26, 2026 at 06:20 AM ISTWhen I was still in school in 1990, 20-something Rajeev Goswami, studying in Delhi University, poured oil and set himself on fire amid a crowd of supporters. Like many other upper-caste students at the time, Goswami was protesting the proposed 27 percent quota for backward classes in government jobs. His shocking act — self-immolation — won sympathy all around, triggering a spate of similar, horrifying suicides but an anti-reservation movement was bound to fail. Morally, it’s hard to disagree with affirmative action to rectify historical wrongs that have kept so many crores disenfranchised by casteism. Still, it took courage to take a stance for his own lot, who, despite caste privilege, were struggling to get by as well. Goswami died in his 30s, in obscurity, his sacrifice a footnote in contemporary Indian history.There’s no heroic recklessness — Goswami-style — going on at Jantar Mantar right now; rather, a range of polite and steely-eyed youth staying put, speaking their minds and sometimes jeering at the powers that be. Since we’re in the season of civil disobedience it is worth asking, is there a specifically right way or perfect cause, to rebel against? At its core, rebellion is recognised as a righteous assertion of human rights when faced with societal ills. The abiding principle is that we need freedom which broadens what we can do and justice, which limits what others can do to us. If we agree that to hurt others for a cause is wrong, outright self-destruction like Goswami’s is lamentable, too. Alas, in the world of the nihilist force is the only law. But the teen suicides post the NEET exam leak occurred from a place of genuine anguish — parents go into debt paying for tuition and students spend painstaking years cramming the syllabus. That crushing blow to their ambitions has stirred the passions of an angry generation, which, in turn, has changed how older Indians suddenly view Gen Z — with compassion and respect.