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And to be young was pure heaven

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William Wordsworth penned these immortal lines to convey the hope, exhilaration and excitement unleashed by the French Revolution. Since then, they have resonated across history at every moment of profound transformation, serving as an “everlasting anthem for radical hope and youthful rebellion”.

Rarely have such moments been witnessed in independent India's history. What unfolded at Jantar Mantar this July was one of them. Wordsworth himself was disillusioned later with the extreme violence, reign of terror and bloodshed that followed the revolution. Nevertheless, that the “dawn” symbolised a monumental new political and social rebirth in human history is undeniable. Indian youth’s July Revolution also may or may not prove a false dawn later. Yet, undeniable is the spark it ignited in a nation that had long appeared entrapped in an atmosphere of fear, hatred and communal hegemony.

The Jantar Mantar of July 2026 has entered the pantheon of those recent historic moments that witnessed the young rising to dare the might of a monstrous establishment. Almost every decade since the 1960s has seen students and other young people rise in revolt in different countries against authoritarianism and injustice, demanding democracy, civil rights and dignity. Recall Atlanta 1960, Paris 1968, Bihar 1974, Assam 1979, Beijing 1989, Tunisia and Cairo 2011, New York 2011, Hong Kong 2014, Bangladesh 2022, and Nepal 2025.

To this author, the most reassuring takeaway from the Jantar Mantar uprising is this: the devious exploitation of religion may not work forever, particularly with India’s young generation. At first glance, this may seem hardly surprising, for the young, throughout history, have repeatedly risen above the narrow walls of religion, caste, language, gender and region. Yet such an opportunity had rarely presented itself in India over the past decade—until now.

As Wordsworth wrote in the same autobiographical poem, the young revolutionaries did not stand alone in that dawn. They were backed by such “mighty........

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