Tridib Raman
If the spirited movement led by Generation Z, or simply the youth of the country, has acquired a new face, much of the credit goes to the internet. Gen Z is unlike any previous generation. It is the first generation to have grown up alongside the internet. If television news channels perceived as aligned with the establishment and the BJP’s traditional IT cell failed to counter this Gen Z movement effectively, the principal reason lies in this generation’s deep affinity with the digital world. This generation has absorbed the immense power, reach, and utility of the internet into its very character. Perhaps it was the pressure of this very generation that when PM Modi delivered his first address on this issue at midnight, it was in ‘selfie mode’ on Instagram. You cannot control this new generation the way you can control traditional media. ‘Reels’ are their biggest weapon of expression. And those BJP leaders who were smugly saying, “The girls you see shouting slogans at Jantar Mantar today will, in a few days, be seen buying matching lipstick in shops,” have received a crushing reply from ‘Gen Z’: “We can do both love and revolution together.” The government and its strategists, in fact, made a mistake in understanding ‘Gen Z’ and ‘Gen Alpha’. They perhaps had no idea that the way ‘Gen Z’ thinks and acts is somewhat different from the ‘Millennials’ and the ‘Baby Boomer generation’. Society and the system have both been made to feel the clear thinking, fearlessness and strength of this generation. Perhaps that is why Dharmendra Pradhan was compelled to send his resignation to the PM.
Where Did the Government Go Wrong?
The central government kept blindly believing the reports of its official intelligence agencies, which repeatedly said: “This movement will not last long; it cannot be sustainable because leftist and Ambedkarite elements have infiltrated it to take control, the character of this movement is also not organised, and they have no proper management or system.” But this movement, which began with the protest against irregularities in the NEET exam, very quickly crossed geographical boundaries. The spark of Jantar Mantar spread to other parts of the country, and even in countries like Germany, Britain and America, young people came out in its support. When this movement was gathering momentum, four eminent journalists associated with different print and digital media went to meet a very powerful minister at the Centre. These journalists were astonished by the minister’s attitude towards the movement. The minister believed that “many such movements have happened before, but all of them proved to be damp squibs.” The minister said that “the question of the Education Minister’s resignation does not even arise because we have already taken action against the guilty officials of the ‘NTA’, the agency that conducts NEET.” Yes, one of the most shocking things was that this minister believed that “in the initial days, the attitude of our police forces present at Jantar Mantar towards the protesting students was too soft and lenient, so we were compelled to say that the police force should deal a little more strictly with the protesters.” And after that, the behaviour of the police is there for everyone to see.
Inexperience of the new Police Commissioner
1994-batch IPS Anurag Kumar was hurriedly given charge of Delhi Police in place of Satish Golcha just before the start of Parliament’s monsoon session, with the intention that he would soon make the protesters pack up and leave from Jantar Mantar. Although Satish Golcha’s tenure was till April 2027, he was also considered a great favourite of the BJP top leadership, because even though he was born in Punjab, he spent his entire time in Surat, that is, in Gujarat. But now charges of inexperience are being levelled against Anurag Kumar. It is being said that he has limited field experience. He was DCP of North Delhi in 2005, after which he remained decorated in the IB office for a full 20-21 years, from where he was pulled out and directly made the new head of Delhi Police. It will be considered a failure of his leadership that the Delhi Police personnel, both in uniform and without uniform, went so out of control at Jantar Mantar and mercilessly beat up the students (boys and girls) who were protesting peacefully, to the extent that the policemen even openly harassed the protesting girl students. Due to this barbaric police action, the movement started getting even wider public support across the country. It is also being said that the policemen themselves were troubled by the behaviour of some of their officers and their Tughlaqi orders. Is this the reason that several videos of police excesses came out from the cameras of the policemen themselves and went viral? Considering the sensitivity of the matter, Delhi Police has now entrusted the responsibility of dialogue with the protesting students to its 1996-batch IPS officer Ajay Chaudhary, who is Special Commissioner (Vigilance). Ajay Chaudhary, who is a Yadav by caste, also has good relations with several opposition leaders.
Is Sonam unfaithful or not!
Social activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his hunger strike at 12:30 a.m. on the midnight of 24 July at the hands of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Dr. Jitendra Singh. Continuous questions have been raised about the manner in which he did this: why on earth did he not wait until morning? He could have ended his hunger strike in the presence of the injured students, then on whose advice did he put the demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation into cold storage? This question becomes especially relevant at this time when it emerges that Sonam’s brother Gyal P. Wangyal is associated with the BJP and the Sangh. He has also served as vice-president of the BJP unit in Leh. It should be noted that when Sonam broke his hunger strike at Medanta Hospital, members of the ‘Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council’ were also present there. The government had summoned these members there in the morning itself; Sonam was probably not aware of this. It is said that on the government’s persuasion, the Hill Council members tried to persuade Sonam that “enough has happened here; now you fight the battle for Ladakh.” According to sources, the Hill Council is putting heavy pressure on the central government for special state status for Ladakh. If that happens, Sonam Wangchuk could become the new head there, because he ranks among the big faces of Ladakh. Sources say that after breaking the hunger strike, both ministers arranged a video call for Sonam with the PM. It is said that the PM told Sonam: “Now you should not remain limited only to Ladakh; contest the 29 Lok Sabha elections and come to Delhi, we want to see you at the Centre.”
Sonam’s Wife’s Odisha Connection!
Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo is said to be the biggest link between the BJP and Sonam. Before marrying Sonam, Gitanjali was a resident of Balasore in Odisha; her maternal home is there. She belongs to a Punjabi-Jain family. It is also said that Gitanjali was the one who first introduced Sonam to Dharmendra Pradhan. Perhaps this is why Sonam had openly sung praises in support of the government’s new education policy. Continuous questions are now being raised: did Gitanjali and Sonam deliberately create an atmosphere so that the fallout of this entire movement would not touch the BJP top leadership and so that the Congress would also not be able to derive any benefit from this movement? It is still a puzzle why Gitanjali, after a fight, brought a High Court order to get Sonam shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta. Why was the list of Sonam’s demands continuously made as flexible as possible for ending the hunger strike, and why was the demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation directly deleted from it? Why was there no comment against the BJP in Gitanjali’s statements, but political statements against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi certainly were, and these statements received Sonam’s support. But it seems Sonam Wangchuk has also realised that the students’ movement is no longer within his or the “Cockroach Janata Party’s” fold; it has become much bigger than that. And the students’ movement has left him behind and moved far ahead, so in an effort to maintain his relevance he posted on Instagram this Saturday: “Do they need a character certificate to prove how genuine their hunger strike was?” The answer to this too will perhaps have to be found by Sonam within himself.
What is the Compulsion of the Sonam Couple?
If the claims of sources linked to the government are to be believed, another big favour may be showered on Sonam and Gitanjali in the coming days. In fact, Sonam and Gitanjali’s institute ‘Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh’ does not have any official recognition from the UGC or AICTE. The matter of granting recognition to this institute has been discussed several times in Parliament as well. This matter has been pending with the UGC for many years. Sonam’s wife Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo is the co-founder of this Himalayan institute; currently she is also its CEO and Dean. It should be noted that this institute was established in 2017. Another argument being given for Sonam becoming a camp-follower of the government is that in this monsoon session itself the central government is going to bring an FCRA law amendment bill to rein in NGOs operating on foreign funds. This new central bill could also adversely affect Sonam’s NGO running in Ladakh; perhaps that is why they have been forced to go down on their knees.
Salman’s 360° U-Turn
Bollywood star Salman Khan, who had become irrelevant in the news, suddenly hit the headlines on 23 July by issuing a post in support of the protesting students. In this 250-word post, Salman had expressed sorrow over the violence that occurred in the students’ movement. By then, several prominent faces from Bollywood and Hollywood had already extended support to this movement. But this step by Salman once again made him a hero among the youth. However, the very next day Salman turned 360 degrees. In his first post, where he was praising the efforts of the youth protesting for a better education system, in the next day’s post he appealed to the youth to abandon the movement and return home. Those who saw this post understood that this is not Salman’s style of writing a post; the draft had come to him from somewhere, and he had merely posted it. Now, since Salman has a new film ‘Matrubhoomi’ coming up, the youth trolled him a lot over this second post, even saying that “Salman has got scared.” Now, in his familiar style, Salman has made a third post -“Jo dar gaya, woh mar gaya”. But if Salman is truly not scared, then why is he calling the distributors of his film and asking them to push forward the release date of ‘Matrubhoomi’?