Speaking to more than 2,000 students at a youth gathering in Mumbai on Thursday, Bhagwat said members of Generation Z and Generation Alpha should be heard with patience rather than dismissed because they challenge authority. Protest, he said, remained a legitimate form of democratic communication when other channels failed to resolve public grievances.
“If Gen Z is shouting, it means they have some problem,” Bhagwat said, arguing that disagreements should be answered with reason, affection and a sense of belonging. Young demonstrators were part of the country and could not be treated as outsiders merely because they questioned institutions or joined an agitation, he added.
The RSS chief was addressing the annual championship conference of India’s International Movement to Unite Nations at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. The programme marked the organisation’s 15th anniversary and brought together school students from more than 100 cities.
Bhagwat’s comments came against the backdrop of youth-led demonstrations over examination irregularities, paper leaks, recruitment delays and employment prospects. The protests have drawn large crowds and gained momentum through social media, where organisers have used satire, short videos and online campaigns to reach students beyond established political networks.
The agitation has also generated arguments over whether sharp criticism of the government amounts to hostility towards the country. Bhagwat disputed that approach, describing patriotism among younger citizens as honest and saying their questions deserved credible answers.
He said protest should seek improvements in systems rather than focus exclusively on removing individuals. An agitation that merely replaces one person without correcting the underlying structure would not achieve durable change, he said. Demonstrations should help society move towards consensus instead of deepening divisions.
The remarks represented a significant intervention by the head of the RSS, which has extensive influence across the Sangh Parivar and longstanding ideological links with the Bharatiya Janata Party. They also reflected growing efforts by established organisations to engage a generation whose political participation is increasingly shaped by digital platforms rather than conventional party structures.
Bhagwat addressed another sensitive social question during the interaction, describing LGBTQ+ people as an integral part of society who should not be excluded or denied dignity. He nevertheless opposed altering the institution of marriage to include same-sex couples at this stage.
Marriage, he argued, was not merely an arrangement allowing two individuals to live together but an institution linked to family formation and the upbringing of future generations. Changing its established structure without broader social preparedness could create unintended consequences and conflict, he said.
Bhagwat instead proposed a separate legal mechanism under which two people of the same sex could live together and receive formal protection without their relationship being classified as marriage. Parliament could devise such a framework after examining the practical needs of couples and building social acceptance, he suggested.
The proposal could reopen debate over legal recognition for same-sex partnerships. Consensual same-sex relations were decriminalised by the Supreme Court in 2018, but marriage equality remains outside the existing statutory framework.
A five-judge Constitution Bench in October 2023 declined to read same-sex marriage into the Special Marriage Act. The court unanimously held that it could not create a new legal status through judicial interpretation and left the question to Parliament. A majority also refused to direct the government to establish civil unions, although the judges affirmed that queer citizens were entitled to equality, dignity and protection from discrimination.
Campaigners have argued that the absence of legal recognition leaves couples facing difficulties involving inheritance, taxation, insurance, pensions, medical consent and next-of-kin status. Bhagwat’s suggestion of a protected cohabitation framework acknowledges some of those concerns while retaining the RSS position that marriage should remain a heterosexual institution.
(IPA Service)
