Gen Z more honest, protesters not anti-national: Bhagwat

NEW DELHI: Calling Gen Z and Gen Alpha more "honest" than adults RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday rejected attempts to brand protesting youngsters "anti-national," and said they have "an honest feeling of patriotism." He described protest as a legitimate form of democratic dialogue and said their questions must be answered with logic, affection and a sense of belonging.By the end of the freewheeling exchange, the 75-year-old had also picked up a new expression from his young audience — “clock it” — and tried it out before the cheering crowd, adding a lighter finish to a conversation that ranged from student protests and reservation to social media, LGBTQ rights and relations with Pakistan and China.The interaction, held as part of IIMUN’s 15th anniversary celebration in Mumbai, was driven by questions from Gen Z and Gen Alpha delegates on issues ranging from education and jobs to reservation, social media and the right to protest.“I feel that this new generation — Gen Z and Gen Alpha — is more honest than our existing generation. There is an honest feeling of patriotism and service in them,” Bhagwat said, adding, “They are not anti-national. They are our own people, our next generation,” . The exchange came against the backdrop of recent Gen Z-led protests over examination irregularities, education and jobs.Bhagwat said young people today were unlike earlier generations that often accepted what elders told them without question. “They ask questions. They want logical answers, and along with that, they want affection,” he said.“I feel this new generation — Gen Z and Gen Alpha — is more honest than our existing generation. The honest impulse of patriotism and service is stronger in them,” he added.Bhagwat said protest should not be treated as the opposite of dialogue. “Protest is also a way of dialogue,” he said, describing it as a democratic means of building consensus. An agitation, he added, should seek to correct the system rather than target individuals or deepen divisions.Asked about allegations of lathi-charge and pellet firing on young protesters, Bhagwat said he did not have enough verified information to reach a conclusion. “I place my trust in Gen Z,” he said.Bhagwat backed the longstanding demand to allocate 6% of the Budget to education, saying, “The demand is justified. It should be implemented.” He also argued that education should not be treated as a commercial business.Turning to social media, Bhagwat warned against trusting content without checking authentic sources, particularly when technology could produce fake images, voices and videos. Influencers and public figures, he said, must recognise their responsibility because lakhs of people may imitate them.Turning to affirmative action, he said reservation must continue as long as social discrimination remained. “Those who have received its benefit and whose condition has improved should give up that benefit for others,” he said. Bhagwat also referred favourably to sub-categorisation so that the benefits reached those still left behind, and blamed politics for creating “bad blood” over a measure intended to promote social unity.The discussion also moved to LGBTQ rights. Bhagwat said the community was part of society and must be accommodated, but favoured wider debate on a legal framework for same-sex companionship rather than an immediate change to the institution of marriage.He also said people-to-people relations with Pakistan and China could be paused during war or terrorism but should not be permanently severed. “Permanent enmity is not the solution,” he said.The discussion also turned to jobs, with Bhagwat arguing that employment should not be reduced to salaried or government work. Entrepreneurship, skilled work and self-employment were equally valid, he said, calling for the restoration of "shram pratishtha", or dignity of labour. Society, he added, must stop ranking occupations as high or low and accord equal respect to anyone earning honestly, whether through farming, manual work, private employment, government service or a small enterprise.Asked why the RSS remained a male organisation despite describing women as equal partners in nation-building, Bhagwat said men and women were “equal and complementary” and should receive the same training and opportunities. He said the Rashtra Sevika Samiti functioned independently with the RSS’s support, while women working in public organisations were invited to the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha and participated in its decision-making process. He also indicated that organisational integration could be considered if the women’s organisation itself sought it.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.