Protesting Doesn't Make Gen Z Anti-National: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

The Gen Z is "apne log (our people)" and if they are protesting their concerns should be addressed, underscored RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat participating in one of the world's largest youth-led conferences on Thursday."If the Gen Z is agitating, they certainly aren't anti-nationals; they are our own people, our next generation," Bhagwat said at the Mumbai Conference titled 'The Role of Youth in Uniting the World, the Indian Way'.The 75-year-old RSS chief said he won't say that Gen Z should not protest, but in a democracy there are ways of going about it."I feel that the new generation - Gen Z and Gen Alpha - is more honest than our current generation, and they genuinely respond to appeals regarding patriotism and service," Bhagwat said.The remarks come days after stutent protests, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, in the heart of Delhi forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the undergraduate medical entrance exam paper leaks.Pictures from the heart of protest site, Jantar Mantar, showed police lathicharging, teargassing student protesters who were trying to march to Parliament on July 20. Some were even shot at with pellet guns.Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said he could relate to the frustration among India's youth over the state of the education system."This was not anger... this was not hatred, this was deep expression of the youth of this country, of the future generation of this country, and I feel that all political parties must respect this expression," he said in a speech in Parliament, while referencing the student protests.More than half of India's population of 1.4 billion consists of those younger than 35, and Gen Z is expected to form one of the largest voting blocs by the time the general election is held in 2029."If you ask me to trust blindly, I'll trust Gen Z," Bhagwat said, throwing his weight behind them.When asked what about the use of pellet guns aginst the protesting students, Bhagwat said he does not have the complete information. "I need to look into the reasons behind this situation; I don't have the complete information yet. I will have to examine the details to determine exactly where things went wrong. I cannot say right now what happened or how it happened - even I don't know what is right or wrong in this matter," Bhagwat said.