When the Going Gets Tough, Gen Z Gets the Memes Going

The biggest takeaway from these protests is that every generation invents the language of dissent that best suits its time. Every generation writes its own political vocabulary.

It has been a week since the protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET paper leak gathered momentum. Every major protest in the capital brings back memories of movements that defined previous generations. For millennials, it is the candlelight marches demanding justice for Jessica Lal and Nirbhaya, the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, and, inevitably, the cinematic imagery of Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s 2006 cult film Rang De Basanti where young protesters facing police lathis at India Gate as AR Rehman’s unforgettable Khoon Chala reaches crescendo in the background.

But July 2026 belongs to a different generation. And it has chosen a very different soundtrack.

Whether these protests ultimately succeed in achieving every demand is a question for history. But one thing is already clear: Gen-Z has demonstrated that it is unapologetic in demanding its democratic right. Often dismissed as ‘the anxious generation’, distracted by social media, chronically online in constant search of the next........

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