Bengaluru: ‘Gen Z on the March’ puts youth politics, paper leaks and accountability in spotlight

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Aug 24, 2026: Paper leaks, accountability, education and the changing nature of youth politics in India took centre stage at ‘Gen Z on the March’, a gathering organised by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) at NGO Hall near Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The event brought together people from different generations, with a large gathering of students, young people and senior citizens. The atmosphere remained energetic throughout the evening, with participants raising slogans such as ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Jai Bhim’.

Vocalist and author T M Krishna, who addressed the gathering, said politics was inseparable from everyday life and questioned the notion that students should stay away from politics.

He argued that factors ranging from where a person is born and what they eat to where they shop are shaped by political realities. Krishna said issues such as paper leaks, unemployment and education were inherently political and that the distinction between political and non-political actions was misleading.

Speaking about recent youth protests, Krishna said they had brought creativity back into politics. He said creative expression through songs, posters and performances could serve as a means of challenging the status quo.

On accountability, Krishna said it should extend beyond examinations and raised concerns over what he described as the weakening of mechanisms such as the Right to Information. He also criticised the centralised NEET system, arguing that it disadvantaged students from rural and marginalised backgrounds and deepened existing inequalities.

Actor Kishore, another speaker at the event, highlighted the importance of memory in sustaining youth movements. Referring to recent student protests, he said movements should not overlook questions of caste, religion, gender and economic inequality in the pursuit of broader unity.

“A student is not only a student,” he said, pointing out that young people enter classrooms carrying diverse social, economic, caste and religious experiences.

AISA national president Neha Bora spoke about student protests across the country and the Gen Z Rising campaign. She said recent movements had demonstrated that young people were willing to organise around issues affecting their education and future.

Bora also criticised the BJP-RSS ecosystem and political parties that claim to oppose the BJP but, she alleged, fail to demonstrate what pro-student politics means on the ground. Calling on students and young people to “educate, organise and agitate,” she said recent protests should not be viewed as isolated incidents.

“The students of this country are fighting back. They fought for the resignation of an education minister and won. They fought for the cancellation of a public service examination and won. They fought against the takeover of university autonomy and won. They fought against an arrogant chairman of the Bar Council and they won,” Bora said.