I studied in a Jesuit school in the coastal town of Kannur - then, Cannanore - in North Malabar, Kerala. The education system in Kerala was then heavily influenced by student politics, even in schools. Many student unions were aligned with political parties, and strikes frequently disrupted college life. It was often the students who bore the consequences, as political narratives overshadowed the genuine concerns of the students.

Looking back after nearly six decades, another lesson stands out. Issues affecting education, governance or society will inevitably have political dimensions, and that is natural in a democracy. However, when every issue becomes a political battleground, the original concern can easily get lost.

Protest is a Strength of Democracy

Peaceful protest for valid reasons is a strength of democracy. There is little doubt that our education system needs a rejig, and an immediate step could be to expedite the implementation of the National Education Policy. Concerns surrounding NEET and access to professional education deserve serious discussion.

My apprehension is that such genuine concerns should not become a political jamboree and, more importantly, should not be politically hijacked. Once that happens, as we have seen in the past, the original issue can become secondary to partisan interests, and little may actually get done.

Not Just an Urban Gen Z Issue

This is particularly relevant in the context of the growing visibility of Gen Z protests. It would be wrong to dismiss the concerns of young people as merely an urban phenomenon.

It is worth keeping the scale of the constituency in perspective. Of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, approximately 337 (62%) are rural, 151 (28%) semi-rural and only 55 (10%) urban, based on a Census-2011 constituency-level classification. NEET has no comparable official classification, but a reasonable working estimate would put its candidates at roughly 50% rural, 25% semi-urban and 25% urban.

The figures for NEET are only estimates, since NTA does not publish a rural/semi-urban/urban breakdown. But the broad picture is revealing: the educational concerns being voiced by Gen Z extend well beyond India's cities and metropolitan centres. Rural India and small towns have a substantial stake in access to professional education and in the way our education system evolves.

Gen Z may be the most visible generation articulating these concerns, but the underlying constituency is considerably broader.

Danger of Political Hijacking

This makes the possibility of political hijacking even more important.

A student movement can begin with a perfectly legitimate grievance, better education, greater opportunity, reform of an examination or changes in policy. But once political organisations enter the movement, the original objective can gradually be displaced. The issue becomes a vehicle for competing political narratives; the protest becomes a contest between parties; and solving the problem takes a back seat to scoring a political point.

That is political hijacking: taking a legitimate public concern and redirecting its energy towards a political objective that may have little to do with the original grievance.

There is nothing wrong with political parties listening to young people or engaging with them. That is part of democracy. The danger arises when listening becomes organising, organising becomes appropriation, and an independent movement is gradually turned into an instrument of partisan politics.

When Politics Seeks to Harness Gen Z

Recent political reactions to Gen Z are therefore worth watching. A senior political leader was recently reported to have cautioned his party colleagues about the influence of Gen Z and urged them to build a youth-oriented organisation to engage with the generation. 

There is nothing inherently objectionable about political parties wanting to engage with young people. That is part of democracy. But it illustrates how quickly political attention can move from understanding a movement to attempting to harness it.

Gen Z should be careful about this.

Political awareness is healthy; political hijacking is not. A generation becoming conscious of its rights, questioning institutions and demanding reform is a strength of democracy. But allowing political organisations to appropriate that energy and redirect it towards their own purposes is quite another matter.

Political Narrative May Shape Protest

Social media makes the danger greater. A genuine concern can rapidly become a contest between opposing narratives. Influencers, political parties and organised groups can amplify selective aspects of an issue until the original concern disappears beneath the political noise. The young protester may believe that he or she is shaping politics, while in reality the political narrative may be shaping the protest.

The irony is that Gen Z may have demonstrated its influence precisely because it has not always operated through established political structures. The danger is that the political establishment now seeks to bring that independent energy inside the political system and put it to its own use.

Need to Remain Politically Aware

This is not a new phenomenon. Every generation believes it has discovered protest for the first time. It has not. Student voices, idealism and youthful enthusiasm have existed across generations. 

What matters is not whether one protests, but whether one understands the issue, the consequences and the price one may have to pay. Conviction and responsibility must go together.

The challenge before Gen Z is therefore not to remain apolitical. It is to remain politically aware without becoming politically captive; to raise legitimate issues, demand change and participate in democracy, while retaining the independence to decide where the movement should go.

Gen Z should guard not only against being ignored, but also against being politically hijacked. The first deprives a generation of its voice; the second uses that voice for someone else's purpose.

(The author is an Indian Army veteran and a contemporary affairs commentator. The views are personal. He can be reached at  kl.viswanathan@gmail.com )