Mohan Bhagwat’s Wisdom Comes Belatedly, After The Damage Was Done

There is wisdom in the observations made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the recent student protests. One only wishes those words had been spoken when thousands of aggrieved students first gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the examination scandals that shook the country.

Coming when they did, two weeks after the brutal police action against the demonstrators, they sounded more like a postscript than timely guidance. He is not the head of an ordinary social organisation.

He leads the century-old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological fountainhead that gave birth to the Bharatiya Janata Party and several other organisations.

His words carry enormous weight within the ruling establishment. Had he intervened at the beginning of the agitation, the government’s response might have been markedly different.

Instead of recognising the protests as a spontaneous expression of outrage over the examination fiascos, particularly the cancellation of the NEET examination after thousands of students had spent months preparing for it, the government chose confrontation over conversation.

Rather than inviting student representatives for dialogue, it dismissed the agitation as foreign-inspired and manipulated by anti-social elements. Such reflexive suspicion only widened the gulf between the rulers and the ruled. Bhagwat has now rightly observed that the protesting students are “our own children”, not anti-national elements.

He has acknowledged that their grievances are genuine and that peaceful protest is an integral part of democratic discourse. More importantly, he has reminded those in authority that today’s Generation Z expects logical answers, not commands.

These are valuable lessons. Unfortunately, they come after students had already endured lathi charges, humiliation, and intimidation. By the time these remarks were made, the political landscape had already changed. The education minister had resigned under mounting pressure, and the BJP suffered an unexpected defeat in its long-held stronghold of Bankipur.

These developments suggest that public resentment extends well beyond a single protest or constituency. The youth have demonstrated that they are a political force capable of influencing electoral outcomes. The government cannot afford to alienate an entire generation.

Young people deserve empathy, transparency, and accountability, not batons and barricades. Equally, organisations that exercise moral and ideological influence over those in power have a responsibility to speak when it matters most, not merely after the damage has been done.

Bhagwat still possesses the credibility to urge the government to acknowledge its mistakes and ensure that such excesses are never repeated.

The nation’s future rests in the hands of its young citizens. Their dreams should never be sacrificed at the altar of corruption, nepotism, or administrative arrogance. Protecting their aspirations is not an act of charity; it is the first duty of every responsible government and every institution that claims to serve the nation.

Published on: Friday, August 07, 2026, 08:46 PM IST