BJP president Nitin Nabin said on Monday that India’s Gen Z is defined by youth who build careers and contribute to national growth, not those who question the country’s Constitution or culture, during an interaction with students at an engineering college on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The remarks came on the second day of Nabin’s three-day visit to Telangana.
What Nabin Said
Nabin told students that global discussions around “Gen Z agitations” — a reference to recent youth-led protests in several countries — did not apply to India’s youth. “There is a lot of debate about Gen Z. People told me that youth carried out agitations in some countries. They are described as Gen Z agitations. India’s youth is not anti-establishment. India’s youth works for building the country,” he said.
Pointing to sportspersons and start-up founders present in the audience, Nabin said young people shaping their own futures through entrepreneurship and contributing to the country’s economic growth represented the “real Gen Z.”
He went on to say that those with what he called a “tukde tukde gang” mindset — a term used by BJP leaders to describe groups they accuse of holding separatist or anti-national views — and who raise divisive slogans or challenge the Constitution, culture, and “soul” of the country, could not be considered part of India’s Gen Z. He urged those present to counter individuals he said were attempting to mislead and incite young people.
Reference to Kashmir
Nabin contrasted what he described as the past image of Kashmiri youth, associated in public discourse with stone-pelting during periods of unrest, with their current participation in competitive sport. He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, youth from the region had gone on to win the Ranji Trophy, citing this as evidence of a broader shift.
Nabin said opposition to the government should be expressed through democratic means. He added that the country’s youth, not what he termed “foreign forces,” were capable of giving direction to the nation. He described Indian youth as being defined by innovation, technology, and knowledge, reiterating that they could not be characterised as anti-establishment.
The remarks were made during Nabin’s broader outreach to students and young professionals during his Telangana visit, days after he separately said the BJP’s electoral symbol needed to “bloom” in the state ahead of future polls.
