In India, youths are quiet as Gen Z protests rock South Asia

"Gen Z is a generation of convenience," Harshita V. said, referring to her cohort's political activism, as she sipped her strawberry-flavored kombucha.

When India's Supreme Court ordered the removal of stray dogs from the streets of New Delhiin August, she said, a friend of hers organized a protest. Scores signed up online. But when the protest took place the next day, only four or five people showed up.

"They rally online," Harshita said. "But, when it comes to finishing something they have started, the enthusiasm fizzles out."

This anecdote set the tone for the conversation on Gen Z youths in India and their politics on a cold afternoon in late December among a small group of young people in the capital, New Delhi.

India has the world's largest youth population. About 377 million Indians — some 27% of the population — belong to Generation Z, a term referring to people born roughly between 1997 and 2012.  It is a demographic that will play a decisive role in shaping the country's democratic future.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

In a curated, townhouse-style discussion, DW spoke with young Indians to understand how they view politics and their place in the world's largest democracy.

The participants were recruited through personal networks and professional circles in Delhi, with the aim of assembling differing political voices for a moderated but informal discussion.

The group, aged 23-24, comprised Saurabh, a soft-spoken educator and civil services aspirant who ardently follows politics; Advik*, a suave finance professional; Yashaswini, a student of political science preparing for the civil services with sharply articulated views; Yasir, a law student who speaks carefully about politics; and Harshita, who works in social media marketing.

They gathered in a quiet South Delhi coffee shop, bringing with them a wide range of political views.

Yasir identified as left-leaning, Yashaswini called herself a right-liberal, Saurabh, a centrist and Harshita considers herself apolitical.

Advik, on the other hand, wants to leave the country "in an act of political disengagement."

"India is turning into a surveillance state," he said, as the light of a CCTV blinked overhead. "The government has a problem with everything I want to say. So yes, leaving is a political decision."

The discussion began by gauging their interest in politics. Yasir, Yashaswini and Saurabh said they followed politics closely. Advik and Harshita said they largely disengaged.

"Reading political news drives my anxiety. I choose to tune out and exist in a local bubble," Advik said, gently swirling his mixed berry juice. The finance professional said he followed a "very curated YouTube feed with anchors who don't yell at me."

Almost on cue, the screech of the espresso machine drowned out the voices, prompting soft laughter from the table.

Harshita was more nihilistic. She believes expecting political change is "delusional" and chooses to work on herself instead.

Social media was the common source of political news for all of them, albeit with discretion regarding the sources.

Yashaswini also consulted the government's Press Information Bureau, as well as newspapers.

Underlying these choices was a shared mistrust of Indian mainstream media.

For a generation that grew up with access to social media, the group was very watchful of what they say online. They all agreed that they willfully refrain from posting political content on social media.

Advik said he disengaged when online discussions turn hostile. "Just because you are anonymous, where is your humanity?" he asked. The others nodded in agreement.

He also said much political content online functioned as propaganda. "I don't think the Gen Zs are engaging critically," he said. "They are constantly watching brain-rot stuff, and then they fall for the 'if not [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, then who' narrative."

The youths said they avoided online confrontations because of the constant labeling. Any post or comment online, they said, is quick to be branded "leftist," "anti-national," "bhakt," a term used for supporters of Prime Minister Modi.

Yasir said that, as a Muslim, the struggle is even more stark. He said he has to watch out for everything he says online, after an incident where rightwing groups published private information online, including his parents' address, an act known as doxing.

There was a horrified pause at the table when Yasir mentioned the doxing.

"Anything that puts me on the radar, I avoid," he said, adding that he now self-censors on topics ranging from religion to Kashmir.

When asked if Indian politics reflect issues that affect young people the most, there was an emphatic and unanimous "no" from the group.

"Gen Z is being represented by people who don't belong to our generation," Saurabh said, putting down his cup of iced espresso.

In a country where the average age of a member of parliament is the mid-50s, he argued that older politicians rely on populist measures, while young people are more concerned about employment, education and long-term economic security.

Caste and identity politics remain central to Indian elections. Yashaswini said caste continued to shape politics largely because of reservation policies.

"What we need is homogenization," she said — a view that remains deeply contested in India's public discourse.

Most of India's Gen Z has come of age under PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power since 2014.

"Before the Modi government came into power, India was seen as a soft power, but now things have definitely changed for the better," Yashaswini said.

She credited the government with promoting self-reliance and expanding digital payments.

Saurabh, too, welcomes India's push for a self-dependent economy over the past decade and believes that India is truly ready to take on the world.

Though India's political environment has grown hypervisible over the past decade, the country's Gen Z youths seem muted compared with elsewhere in South Asia, where their counterparts in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh have brought down governments.

The group rejected the idea that this reflects apathy.

"We are not tame," Advik said. "We are old enough to realize we have the power."

So what's stopping young people in India from mobilizing to demand better governance? Yasir said one possibility was the sense of confusion among the country's youths, who are bombarded by vast amounts of information online with very little verification.

Saurabh said the ideological polarization was exhausting. "We are fighting over leaders who don't care about us," he said.

"We are not tame: We have the audacity," Yashaswini said in agreement. "But we are also exhausted that things don't change."

She said large-scale uprisings such as those in Bangladesh would not happen in India.

"In India we have a strong system," she said. "So protest shouldn't be an option. Any protest like that will create a power vacuum which will only bring back colonization. In Bangladesh, it was sheer hooliganism."

Yasir said regional, religious and caste divisions prevented nationwide youth mobilization. "There is division over region, religion, caste etc, and that works in favor of the state... I don't think Indians will ever have one single thread to hold on to to eventually overthrow a government."

The frustrations raised at the table echo what youth engagement groups have been observing nationwide.

Shipra Baduni, CEO of Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), an organization working to amplify youth engagement in the policymaking process, said this was not an apathetic generation. The "data has consistently shown that Gen Z remains engaged in issues that profoundly affect them and their communities," she pointed out.

India's lack of a centralized figure in the opposition who can take on Modi was also a topic of discussion.

"Rahul Gandhi hasn't delivered what he promised. This has left the centrists feeling hopeless," Saurabh said. Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Parliament, is a scion of India's most famous political dynasty and the great-grandson of independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

Saurabh said Gandhi's Congress party missed opportunities to capitalize on public anger, from the pandemic to protests over reported irregularities in entry exams for government jobs.

"With the opposition we have, there is no real choice, there is only an illusion of choice," he added.

The numbers from India's 2024 general election help explain why the conversation at the coffee shop kept circling back to exhaustion rather than anger.

"While 22% of registered voters were under the age of 30, only 38% of eligible first-time voters aged 18-19 were actually registered," Baduni said. "In 2024, youth turnout declined to around 65%, lower than in the 2014 and 2019 elections."

Though the data may suggest waning political interest, Baduni said, larger systemic gaps are also at play. For the five young people at the table, disengagement was not indifference, but a response to a political system they felt was unresponsive.

Back at the coffee shop, the conversation grew quieter amid the last clinks of the cups. Yet, despite the fatigue and frustration, it ended on a note of optimism.

Saurabh said young people were becoming more politically inquisitive and increasingly willing to question authority. Harshita reiterated what she called the inherent audacity of her generation.

Yasir said he believed that small developments signal larger changes ahead, including the plea for marriage equality before the Supreme Court.

"I have hope for my country," Yashaswini said. "For I am that hope."