India's Gen Z is vast, restless and hyper-connected - more than 370 million people under 25, nearly a quarter of the country's population.

Smartphones and social media keep them constantly informed about politics, corruption, and inequality. Yet taking to the streets feels risky and remote: fear of being branded "anti-national", regional and caste divides, economic pressures, and a sense that their actions may have little impact all weigh heavily.

Elsewhere in Asia and Africa, the same cohort - Generation Z, those born roughly between 1997 and 2012 - has been anything but quiet recently.

In Nepal, young protesters brought down a government in just 48 hours last month; in Madagascar a youth-led movement toppled its leader; frustrated Indonesians, worried about jobs, forced concessions from the government after protests against rising living costs, corruption and inequality; and in Bangladesh, anger over job quotas and corruption brought regime change last year. Co-ordinated through encrypted apps and amplified by social media, these uprisings are fast-moving, decentralised and frustrated over political corruption and cronyism.

In India, there have been faint sparks of discontent. In September, the disputed Himalayan region of Ladakh saw violent clashes between police and protesters demanding statehood for the territory, prompting activist Sonam Wangchuk to describe the unrest as a sign of "Gen Z's frenzy" and long-suppressed anger.

This mood found an echo in national politics. Main opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi's remark on X that "Gen Z youth will prevent voter fraud and save the Constitution" came after he publicly alleged large-scale electoral irregularities in the state of Karnataka.

In response to regional unrest, particularly the Nepal uprising, Delhi's police chief has reportedly instructed his force to draw up contingency plans for potential youth-led demonstrations in the capital.

Online, the debate is raging and deeply divided. Some users on Reddit and X have urged India's youth to stage similar protests at home. Others, recalling the violence in Nepal's upheaval, warn against romanticising leaderless revolts. Fact-checking outlet........

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