Dipankar Bhattacharya questions RSS' planned Gen Z interaction

Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Tuesday, August 4, questioned the RSS' outreach to youth, saying the 'Sangh Parivar' should first stop issuing "rape and death threats" to teenagers before attempting to engage with them.

Responding to reports that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address around 2,000 students aged 15-19 from 100 cities at Mumbai's Nita Mukesh Ambani Centre on August 6, Bhattacharya said the scale of the event was "impressive" but questioned its purpose.

"RSS is reportedly quite desperate to reach out to Gen Z. Mohan Bhagwat is all set to address 2,000 students aged 15 to 19 brought from 100 cities. The numbers are impressive, but what will the outreach be about?" he said.

Claiming that the ruling establishment had been hostile towards young protesters, Bhattacharya said, "Modi has already talked about 'culture shock', invoking patriarchal prejudices against India's 'misled daughters'. The orchestrated backlash, both online and offline, is forcing 15-year-olds to offer apology videos."

He further alleged that BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri had called the Jantar Mantar protesters "puncture menders", BJP MP Kangana Ranaut referred to Gen Z as "Generation Gutter", former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had described protesters as terrorists, and

RSS joint general secretary Atul Limaye termed the protests "anti-constitutional" and "anti-national".

"If the RSS really wants to listen to India's Gen Z, let them first ask the Sangh Parivar to stop issuing rape and death threats to 15-year-olds," Bhattacharya said.

"Let them instead lower the voting age to 16. In today's digital era of information revolution, 16-year-olds are informed enough to make their political choices," he added.