The era of youth MyInd.net 12 Oct 2026
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The era of youth MyInd.net 12 Oct 2026
Most parts of the world are witnessing some form of turmoil, internal or external. Irrespective of which form, the impact spreads beyond the region. West Asia and Europe have been consumed by conflicts which have dragged on with no end in sight. Negotiations have failed. These conflicts have hit the global economy, with the Ukraine war impacting food prices and the Iran conflict, the cost of oil. The Israel-Hamas and Hezbollah conflict has left thousands dead as also homeless. While the US led war in Iran appears to be at a stalemate, Houthis attacks on Saudi Arabian have increased, leading to activation of the Mecca pact.
Other parts of the world are witnessing protests largely led by the youth. These impact daily life of residents as also the national economy.
In Europe, protests began in the Paris region of France in mid-Sept with high school students and teachers taking to the streets over a lack of funding and staff. It soon spread to other parts of the country, growing in scale by the day. Over 6500 have been arrested. The government partially gave in by beginning recruitment of additional 3000 teachers. The protestors, having gained their first victory, vowed to continue protests, threatening the government. Many protesting are neither students nor teachers.
Protests spread from France across the border into Belgium with students of Liege rising in anger due to rising education costs, overcrowded classrooms and lack of facilities. These moved beyond into Italy with similar complaints. Greece is likely to be the next. Two other nations now gearing up for protests by students, either in solidarity with France and Belgium, or for similar reasons, are Ireland and Austria.
In Spain, protests are ongoing over a housing and cost-of-living crisis. The trigger was the eviction of an 87-years old lady from her apartment of 70 years. Her passing away shortly thereafter further galvanised protests. Protests are ongoing in Germany on two vastly different topics. The first is against increased defence spending and a possible change to conscription in the military. The second is increased demand for the creation of a Palestine state and ending support to Israel.
In South America protests rocked Santiago, Chile, with students clashing with riot police after its President, José Antonio Kast, introduced his 2027 draft budget bill which included a cut in public education funding. In Brazil, protests commenced with news from the first phase of elections which indicated that the right-wing candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, may overthrow the current left-wing President Lula da Silva. Students believe he would align with Trump’s policies and Brazil could become a puppet of the US.
Africa is a continent facing rising insurgencies. It is also witnessing some protests. In South Africa, anti-migrant protests in Johannesburg and Durban turned violent with protestors clashing with police. They want an end to processing asylum applications.
South Asia is having its share of protests. In Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it was youth led protests which resulted in overthrowing of governments and forcing fresh elections. In Pakistan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party launched a long march toward Islamabad on October 4, 2026, demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Talks between the government and the PTI have collapsed. Islamabad, where the long march is headed has been locked down with containers deployed at all entry points.
In India, the CJP (Cockroach Janata Party) has been leading youth dominated protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties are holding their own protests on similar grounds. They have accused the CEC of removing names from the voter list benefitting the BJP. Delhi was barricaded prior to the protests and leaders of the CJP arrested immediately on their arrival in Delhi. The intent had been to contain protests and prevent them from turning violent. The CJP had in July led protests against the leak of the NEET exams, which continued for about three weeks.
There are some similarities between nations currently facing student led protests as against nations facing political protests. In Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain did not support the US in its war with Iran. In South America, Chile opposed US’s actions in Venezuela while Brazil has been on Trump’s hitlist for the arrest of former pro-US president Jair Bolsonaro. It faces highest US sanctions. In Africa, Trump has been critical of South Africa over its treatment of Whites. In Asia, India is a nation which has refused to bend to Trump’s demands.
Whether this is just a coincidence or protests were engineered by outside agencies is debateable. Fox news mentions that American-born, Shanghai-based, communist tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, is possibly behind protests in France, now spreading across Europe. The agency also claims to have identified 50 organizations behind the protests indicating a wide network working in tandem to fuel the protests.
In India, protests on 10th Oct preceded the review by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on October 12, 2026 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA). This act will reduce foreign funding to dubious organizations limiting the ability of foreign governments or organizations from influencing domestic subjects. Were the protests linked to this remains unknown. There are also claims that anti-government movements in India are funded by institutions from abroad.
Most ongoing global protests largely involve students. This raises issues. There is no doubt that youth are more fearless and have lesser responsibilities than adults, who have family responsibilities and jobs, and hence are unwilling participants. Youth are also influenced by social media as they spend maximum time on this. They believe what they come across in social media and this impacts their views on their future. Protests in India as also ongoing protests in many parts of Europe are examples of this.
Where the youth begin to believe or are made to believe that government actions are detrimental to their future, they will act. This are what triggered protests in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where governments collapsed in the face of protests. Was this also the case in India with anti-CEC protests. Excessive action against the protestors will always be detrimental. The organizers will attempt to push the governments hand for increased retaliation.
Social media, with imaginative memes and themes, is a crowd puller. Most student protests are fuelled by this engine. Colleges and other educational institutes are places where recruiting supporters and protestors is relatively simple. Many attend due to peer pressure or to display their sense of responsibility or believe this is essential for ensuring their future. Few are interested in understanding the true intent behind those pushing protests. It is also true that protests, which draw a few thousands, do not represent masses who vote, but government highhandedness in curbing protests provides them with wider publicity and support.
Student led protests will not cease, rather grow with time. The stronger the retaliation, the more the belief that governments fear their movements. Governments need to be sensitive to their demands, open channels of communication, explain realities, especially in interactions at educational institutes, as also avoid confrontation. While leaders of protests need to be taken to task, as they attempt to misguide the students, those participating need a far more humane approach, as many have been drawn in without being aware of reality. Sensitivity is essential in dealing with students and must be a norm rather than an exception. It is also true that protests will die down with time and hence patience in managing them is essential. Simultaneous is the need to ensure that these do not impact the common citizen.