Modi Gen Z outreach is facing headwinds as student-led demonstrations over a cancelled medical entrance exam, and broader concerns about youth representation, reveal a widening trust gap between the government and young Indians.
After days of protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a rare selfie video on Instagram saying he was pained by students’ distress and promising remedial steps. He followed with several more short videos styled for a Gen Z audience. Comments under the first clip captured the prevailing mood, with one user writing, “We ain’t friends.” Despite improved production values in subsequent posts, reactions have remained cool.
Modi’s videos, in which he addressed viewers as “friends” before discussing the exam controversy, were his most visible response to what has become the most serious political challenge of his third term so far. The uproar followed the cancellation of a high-stakes medical entrance test that affected millions of applicants. While the prime minister has increasingly adopted the cadence of a one-person content creator, the strategy has yet to shift sentiment.
Analysts said the discontent has dented the sheen of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at a moment of peak political strength and has exposed significant distance from younger voters.
Young voices sidelined
The average age of lawmakers elected to India’s Parliament in 2024 rose to a record 56, a sign of limited youth representation, according to Shipra Barduni, CEO of Young Leaders for Active Citizenship. She said India’s once-vibrant campus politics, a training ground long linked to national and regional parties, has been steadily curtailed over the past decade.
Student parties have historically offered a pulse check for the country and a platform for young people to express frustration or dissent, Barduni noted. She argued that students are increasingly being told to focus solely on studies and to avoid political engagement. She also said online criticism of the government often draws scrutiny, with workplaces checking social media activity.
Barduni added that responsibility for reconnecting with young people does not rest solely with the central leadership. Local representatives should convene conversations with constituents to hear concerns and respond to them, she said. Requests for comment from the BJP’s youth leader in New Delhi and the party’s national spokesperson were not returned.
Decoding the Gen Z vibe
Memes, music and short-form videos became the language of the protests, mixing polite appeals with slogans that sometimes used expletives. Government responses fed another round of online satire.
Political scientist and author Amit Julka said the BJP’s communications playbook was built for the WhatsApp era and does not easily translate to the irony and meme culture prevalent among younger users. Even a concerted effort to “crack the Gen Z code” risks feeling inauthentic, he said.
More than a week after the demonstrations were called off following the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the debate has shifted. Instead of focusing on exam reform and preventing paper leaks, much of the conversation has turned to “misguided youths.” Some BJP members and prominent supporters posted that abusive language seen in a viral clip of a teenager criticizing the prime minister and his late mother had shocked them and violated social norms.
In a weekend video, Modi addressed the incident, saying he understood public outrage and calling it a cultural shock to hear such language from “our daughters.” He said he preferred to forgive the teenager rather than see legal action. Senior minister Rajnath Singh said the government’s priority was to listen to students, address concerns quickly and ensure they feel heard.
Julka suggested episodes like this can be used to delegitimize dissenters without overt coercion. Even veiled allusions can be effective, he said, adding that Gen Z participants are ultimately vulnerable youth.
What can bridge the political gap?
Barduni said there are non-coercive ways to narrow the divide if leaders stay focused on the core issue. The protests centered on systemic failures in India’s education system, she said, questioning why the conversation keeps drifting elsewhere.
She urged engagement with young people at civic levels and tangible reforms, alongside restraint from further crackdowns. While the damage to trust may be hard to reverse, she said more direct dialogue could help leaders better understand youth priorities and begin addressing them. Otherwise, she warned, young people may conclude that only disruptive tactics get results.
Although large demonstrations subsided after the education minister’s resignation, smaller protests have continued across the country. In Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of students staged a peaceful walkout over infrastructure gaps. Students at a government school in western India demonstrated to demand more teachers. In Jaipur, three student leaders began an indefinite hunger strike seeking the return of student union elections.
Both Barduni and Julka said the prime minister’s one-way video series is not a substitute for dialogue. For critics, they said, it merely adds material to highlight what they view as shortcomings in the government’s approach to the youth, echoing concerns seen in other protest movements such as Iran executions: Two men hanged over protest violence.