The entire world has become familiar with Gen Z protests in recent times. South Asia is not an exception. Now, the faces of Generation Alpha (or Gen Alpha, consists of the demographic cohort born roughly between 2010 and 2024) protesters are visible in India. In different parts of the South Asian country, they recently took to the streets with placards, demanding new buildings to replace their dilapidated school structures or calling for renovations or seeking the attention of their teachers. It is unfortunate to see a group of children in school uniforms taking to the streets to stage protests.

After all, the vast majority of Gen Z are adults and qualified enough to determine the future of their country. However, Gen Alpha protesters, widely considered as the future of a nation, have to demand their basic and minimal right: Being able to study safely in schools. This is proof of a massive failure of Indian democracy, as well as the Indian State.

India gained independence eight decades ago. Undoubtedly, the country has made progress in various sectors since gaining independence in 1947. India, which once had to rely on PL-480 aid to secure food for its hungry population, has successfully brought about a telecom revolution, developed nuclear weapons and sent a spacecraft to the Moon. It has also emerged as one of the world’s largest economies. Yet, fundamental and critically important social infrastructure, such as education and health, has remained neglected.

The shifting of basic rights, like education and healthcare, into commodities determined by purchasing power is one of the most critical socio-economic issues in India. Rich people send their children to private schools where one need not worry about the infrastructure. They also purchase private medical care to bypass limitations of the public system and to secure premium services. Those who could not make it have remained neglected. Today, their minor children take to the streets, with placards in hand, to secure even the most basic rights from the state apparatus. Driven by a lack of fundamental resources, children as young as six have increasingly stepped onto the front lines of public demonstration to challenge the Indian State.

No matter how much the space for democracy in India continues to shrink, the electoral process remains unchanged. India conducts an election every five years, with major political parties seeking the mandate of the citizens. However, adult citizens with voting rights have never asked why expenditure on education often fails to increase as a proportion of GDP. They did not want to know why many schools still lack toilet facilities, why students from multiple grades have to sit in the same classroom or why the number of teachers in many schools is extremely low relative to the number of students. Surveys repeatedly show that the majority of students have learnt far less than what is expected for their age or grade level. This phenomenon is often referred to as the learning crisis or learning poverty.

Children are not supposed to raise all these questions. Unfortunately, they have to do so as adults around them stay silent. Adult Indians have failed to change this system. In fact, they did not even attempt to do so. They should hang their heads in shame after witnessing the Gen Alpha protests.

Meanwhile,

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das