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Madagascar saw a crowd of disillusioned citizens grow throughout the months of September and October 2025. The anger over electricity and water shortages widened into accusations of corruption, poor governance, poverty and failing public services. After weeks of protests, president Andry Rajoelina fled the country. On October 17, Colonel Michael Randrianirina swore in as the head of state.

The entire magnitude of the protest was reduced to “a Gen Z uprising”. A convenient enough label to print, broadcast and turn into a headline. And, the same narrative has started taking root in India.

The recent NEET examination leak and the wider failures within the education system brought people to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The immediate demand was accountability over examination irregularities and the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. After 35 days of an indefinite protest, Pradhan resigned, and the protest acquired a new identity: “Gen Z”.

From demographic to political identity

People began showering praises and criticism on the generation for successfully demanding a response from a very mute government. Ministers, academics, singers, actors, sports personalities and every section of society that had maintained strict silence over 12 years had mustered up a social media post. An entire generation was treated as the long-awaited saviour for the masses and a threat to those in power. The successes and the pitfalls of the protest were thrust upon a made-up label. The right and the left started analysing the generation. Articles and videos began pouring in. Experts were called in to opine. And, somewhere along the way, the cause that brought people to the streets was pushed to the margins and the spectacle of the protest took centre stage.

It is a curious transformation. The demand for accountability reduced simply to be an outcry of a demographic. Protesters tried to cast the politicians’ attention towards the education system, but the politicians diverted their attention towards decoding Gen Z. The parliamentarians have already long been performing in the assembly for a viral 15-second Instagram reel, but after 20 July, even the prime minister became an overnight influencer.

A few words have been recognised as “Gen Z lingo” and the ministers have started using them in parliamentary proceedings. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bansuri Swaraj saying, “Modi ji clocked it”, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda saying, “Vastegunahuiyan” and “kuchhu-puchhu”, or Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde saying “MIA”, “FOMO” and “delulu”, all feel like desperate attempts at youth outreach. Words that already do not........

© The Wire