KOLKATA: Protesting students and youth should not be branded as “anti-nationals”. That was the key takeaway from an address to schoolchildren in Mumbai by Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who spoke on Aug 6, less than two weeks after India’s largest youth-led demonstrations in decades.
This placatory remark by the head of a highly influential socio-political organisation, which shares close links with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), highlights the ongoing attempts by the governing party and its allies to reach out to the country’s youth.
They are trying to limit electoral damage after the widespread anger displayed during recent protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that highlighted growing frustration among the country’s youth over a lack of job and education opportunities.
Even Modi has enhanced his presence on Instagram recently in a bid to win over young voters, using vertical selfie-style videos, pop-culture references, humour and less formal language to reach
