Nationwide Student Movement Expands Beyond Gen Z, Involving School Students

Growing Student Protests Against Educational Corruption

Patna, August 2 - Deepankar Bhattacharya, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, stated on Sunday that the ongoing protests against corruption in education, question paper leaks, and rising fees have now transcended the Gen Z demographic, with school students also joining the demonstrations. Speaking at a press conference, Bhattacharya emphasized that the campaign against educational corruption, fee hikes, attacks on university autonomy, and the alleged suppression of student movements has evolved into a nationwide movement, engaging a significant number of the youth.

He remarked, “This student movement is no longer confined to Gen Z; it has now included Generation Alpha as well.” School students are now raising their voices on issues related to education.

Gen Z refers to individuals born between 1997 and 2012, while Generation Alpha includes those born from 2010 to 2024, although there are varying opinions on the exact timeline. Bhattacharya held Union Home Minister Amit Shah accountable for the police crackdown on students in Delhi, asserting that both the Education Minister and the Home Minister should be held responsible.

He accused the government of failing to withdraw all cases against students despite announcements to do so. Bhattacharya described this as a violation of democratic and human rights. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is attempting to suppress student protests.

The CPI (ML) General Secretary asserted that any efforts to stifle the nationwide student movement will be unsuccessful. He criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that in a recent video message, Modi spoke of ‘forgiveness’ for students, but this seemed to be a guise to promote conservative and patriarchal views against female students.