ये आंदोलन का ‘Gen Z’ स्टाइल है! पोस्टर, प्रोटेस्ट और अपनी शर्तों पर खड़े हुए मुखर योद्धा – gen z style jantar Delhi mantar protest ground report students police clash ntc ksrj
These days, not just a movement is going on at Jantar Mantar, but a new generation is seen displaying the oldest tool of democracy, ‘demonstration’, in a new way with its own language, its own methods and its own new way of protesting.
This is the generation which is often sidelined by calling it ‘OTT people’ or ‘reel people’, but on looking closely at the crowd present at Jantar Mantar, one realizes that when the new generation – Gen Z, who grew up in the era of digital revolution, takes to the streets, the pattern of the movement changes.
When you step into Jantar Mantar at Connaught Palace, you realize that this is not a traditional protest. This is the own movement of today’s new generation i.e. ‘Gen Z’. This flood of youth from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP and from every corner of the country is not following the instructions of any one face or leader. There is neither any universally accepted leader nor any big face to give guidance.
Sometimes it seems that this is a spontaneous outburst, while sometimes it seems that it is being managed in a very organized manner from behind the scenes. But the truth is that it is not in the power of anyone to control this crowd – be it the police administration or the students’ own representative Abhijit Dipke.
This new generation boiling with anger is in no mood to listen to anyone. This also shows that when there is no clear leadership of the crowd, it becomes difficult to control it. This is the reason why sometimes the situation suddenly became tense.
The biggest specialty of this movement is that here no single face is seen controlling the crowd. Many times it seemed that the crowd was not fully listening to those who appealed from the stage. People have their own groups, their own opinions and their own decisions. Perhaps this is the biggest identity of Gen Z – they connect with an idea, not a person.
When threat came from home, I got a bold answer
In this movement, Zen-ji’s temperament is reflected at every turn. Here, not only are there placards with slogans but there are also posters with creative and sharp messages. Each poster was a personal statement. There was anger on some, sarcasm on some, hope on some and talk about the Constitution. This generation, raised on social media, knows how to write short, effective and viral messages. Perhaps this is the reason why his posters looked as effective as his Instagram story.
The sight on the ground was astonishing. A student sitting in the protest got a call from her father. The father said in a clear tone, “Return from there immediately, otherwise I will stop sending money for expenses.” That girl’s answer makes Gen-ji’s mentality completely clear. Without hesitation she said, “Papa, it is not about money, it is about my rights and future. I am sitting here for my own interests.”
This clearly shows that this generation knows how to ask questions and is not ready to bow down to any pressure for their rights.
Anger at being lathicharged, yet giving food and flowers to the police!
On July 20, when the police lathi-charged the students after the call of ‘Sansad Chalo’, the anger of the youth reached the seventh sky. Police brutality, tear gas and misbehavior with women had created immense tension in the atmosphere. A video came out where the police is doing lathicharge, a young man is facing the police with his chest wide and is being lathicharged and asks the police to beat him further. That means he is ready to sacrifice himself for the movement.
On the evening of 21st July when our friends Anurag Kashyap When we reached ground zero, there was a mixed feeling of fear and anger on every face. The network was completely shut down. Friends were getting separated, cabs were not being booked and people were not even able to upload their videos. When someone would suddenly shout ‘run, run’, the fear was such that 200-400 people would run without knowing anything. In the darkness of the night, I was not able to even get a chance to show the press card.
But amidst this fear and anger, a different view of Genji was also seen. The youth who were enraged by the lathicharge of the police, the next moment extended their hands towards the same security personnel and offered them flowers and food.
anonymous helper
In this movement, those who could not reach Jantar Mantar themselves, are contributing to this fight by sitting in their rooms. Hashtags are being used on social media, reels and photos are being uploaded on Instagram and Facebook. When the internet was shut down, apps and tricks to transfer messages without Wi-Fi and network started being shared on social media. For the companions sitting on the ground, unknown people are getting food delivered through online apps like Zomato, Swiggy and Blinkit.
Many delivery boys reach the protest site with food packets, distribute the food and leave. No one knows who has sent this food. Our other teammates Rishabhwho spent the entire night on the footpath of Jantar Mantar, says that when the cleaning team of the administration or the Municipal Corporation did not reach there, the protesting students themselves picked up brooms and bags and made the entire protest site shine. This is the identity of Gen-20 – they do not just complain about the system, they also take care of the system themselves when needed.
the other side of the coin
As disciplined as the inside of Jantar Mantar looks, the outside view is equally scary and violent. Many anti-social elements have entered the crowd scattered in the areas of Connaught Palace adjacent to Jantar Mantar, who are intent on changing the direction of the entire movement. The round of hate posters and slogans against PM Modi and Dharmendra Pradhan continues. The atmosphere becomes more dangerous at night.
Rishabh says that during the night some people were also seen who probably had no connection with the basic issue of the students. “Around four in the morning, a drunken man started molesting a woman sleeping on the footpath. The people present there immediately caught him and threw him out.” Apart from this, it was felt many times that women’s safety is an important issue here.
Politics of provocation and hatred towards media
Some Nihangs with swords and spears in their hands were seen repeatedly provoking the police, as if they were waiting for a major violent clash. Who are these Nihangs, where have they come from, I don’t know. According to Rishabh, when a media person (probably YouTuber) was shooting on the ground, suddenly the crowd surrounded him.
Someone shouted, “This is Godi media, it praises the government!” And the crowd went out of control and ran to kill him. That media person somehow managed to save his life by running away. Rishabh tells that for a few moments it seemed that he would be mob lynched today. On Wednesday night, when the crowd went out of control, stones were pelted at the police and pepper spray was sprayed, in which many policemen were also injured.
Why is the temperament of ‘Gen Z’ special?
It would be wrong to dismiss this movement as just a ‘mob’ or ‘a hubbub of misguided youth’. We have to understand this style of Gen Z. This generation does not follow the agenda of any political master. That is why there is no single leader here. On one hand, this generation stands with its chest raised in front of the police batons for its rights.
Yes, it is true that saving this movement from the anti-social elements and violence that entered the crowd is the biggest challenge for the agitators themselves. But there is no doubt that this Gen-ji sitting at Jantar Mantar is writing a completely new and unique script of mass movements in India.
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