Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will meet with students from the Gen Z age group in the age group of 18-25 years from more than 100 cities around the country on Thursday during a programme at Mumbai on the sidelines of which Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
The event is set to be at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) to mark 15 years of International Movement to Unite States (IIMUN). A first of its kind, more than 2,000 high school attendees are expected to turn up at the first session where Bhagwat will meet intimate with members of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
The event falls at a politically crucial juncture as the young students of Generation Z have been at the very center of the protests against the controversy regarding the NEET examination.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Aaditya Thackeray, meanwhile, questioned the need for programmes of such nature to reach youngsters, partly alluding to the police operations on students protesting the dummies during the protests.
Writing on a social media platform, Thackeray wondered where were the leaders who were pushing for youth engagement when the students were allegedly assaulted during protests. He noted the use of chemical weapons, electric barricades and other police tactics against the demonstrators as well as their sexist policing of the women protesters.
The Jantar Mantar protest received a good response from students from all over the country and ultimately led to the resignation of Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan. Bhagwat’s engagement with the youth students is likely to revolve around leadership, youth development and participation in nation-building and may catch attention amid a debate on student activism and governance raging across the country.