Hear Gen Z out first, says former Army chief Naravane, as row over "regime change" label grows

The country's political debate has once again got stuck on one phrase. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan described the protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a "fight for regime change". AISA president Neha Bora also used the phrase, citing the Gen Z-led movement in Bangladesh. Within hours, the debate was no longer about voter rolls, exam paper leaks and the future of young people. It had become a question of whether street crowds were being used to topple an elected government.

The government's reaction was sharp. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh alleged that the Congress and its allies were using youth protests in Delhi to spread "anarchy" and to bring about regime change like that in Bangladesh. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Opposition leaders and outside forces were trying to incite violent street protests of the kind seen in Bangladesh and Paris. Pointing to developments in France, Albania, Nepal and Bangladesh, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, "There has been no regime change and there will be none."

The Opposition rejects this framing entirely. Saying "India is not Bangladesh, and India is not France either", Shashi Tharoor said the demand is for free and fair elections, that it is a "constitutional issue" and not an attempt to topple the government. Pawan Khera said the comparison is a "dangerous ploy", used to give a communal colour to a domestic debate and to discredit legitimate grievances about electoral transparency and education.

There is merit in both sides' arguments. The government's concern is not trivial. Elsewhere in South Asia, mass movements have ended in violence and the collapse of institutions, and any responsible leader would worry about such a slide. In a democracy where governments change through the ballot box and EVMs, loose language such as "regime change" does not help. If the phrase was used carelessly, critics have been handed a ready opportunity to respond.

But the Opposition's objection is not entirely wrong either. Crude comparisons with Paris or Dhaka blur the difference between peaceful protest and violent unrest, and a generation's grievances are discredited by being dragged into the same comparison. A movement over the credibility of the voter list and of examinations is, on the face of it, a demand that institutions work as they promised. It is not a demand to break them. If the protest is branded a conspiracy of foreign inspiration before it is even heard, the very distrust the protesters speak of risks growing.

Against this backdrop, the words of former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane deserve attention. A man who spent his life in an institution built on discipline and order advised restraint. "The new generation thinks differently," he said. "But thinking differently does not mean they are wrong." He also said that understanding their difficulties and problems is the only way to resolve the "confusion and questions" before them.

This is not advice for any one party. It applies to everyone in the dispute. The government should answer the core issues behind the grievances: transparent figures on names deleted from the rolls, easy ways to get wrongly deleted names restored, and swift, strict action against malpractice in examinations. Those leading the protests should keep their language precise, keep the movement peaceful and avoid slogans that can be easily dismissed. Parties on both sides should ask themselves whether they are looking for solutions or merely scoring points.

The country's youth are neither a threat to be managed nor a vote bank to be captured. This is the largest generation of voters and job seekers the country has seen, and the question many of them ask is simple: will this system treat us fairly? If the answer is to stamp them "anarchists" or "regime changers", the question remains unanswered.

A mature democracy is not afraid of a generation that is paying attention. It sits, listens and fixes what is broken. General Naravane's advice is the right place to begin.