I write today as a parent to two Generation Z (Gen Z) individuals, as a witness to the current protests, somewhat cognizant of the challenges facing this generation across the world. Never before in human civilisation have the young been so informed, so early, and in real time, of the events unfolding across the globe. This is the content waterfall generation, a generation that has social communication networks available beyond the traditional worlds of school, home and family. Gen Z is growing up in a world where information arrives continually, global events enter personal spaces instantly, and they are not so much observers of history, but rather participants in its unfolding. Ironically this unprecedented connectivity has also created a world where performance can easily masquerade as participation. The stage for this generation is thus global, their audience is permanent through players self-appointed. In this age, for my generation, within the echoes of the noise of constant visibility lies a far more serious responsibility: the business of parenting and raising the future citizens of India.

It is against this background that I view the student protests underway in the country today.

At their core is a generation asking for accountability. From us, their parents. From the stakeholders responsible for their education. From the testing agencies, the ministries that supervise them, and ultimately from India itself. There are many arguments in the public sphere, yet I find myself asking a simpler question: When did asking for accountability begin to be treated in our society as an attack on our values?

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