To understand Gen Z after CJP protests, academics invite students home for conversations

As debates around Gen Z's language, political engagement and methods of protest continue following the recent CJP agitation, a group of academics, intellectuals and civil society members on Sunday invited students into their homes for informal conversations over tea and lunch in an effort to better understand the younger generation.

The initiative, organised by the Academic Dialogue Forum, was held across 12 residences in Delhi-NCR, including the homes of historians Aditya and Mridula Mukherjee, scientist-poet Gauhar Raza and activist Shabnam Hashmi, St Stephen's College professor Karen Gabriel, political scientist Rajeev Bhargava and social activist Syeda Hameed. Students registered in advance through a Google Form, selecting their preferred host and venue.

According to the organisers, the idea was to reverse the traditional relationship between older and younger generations. Instead of offering advice, they wanted to listen to students at a time when conversations around youth politics, campus dissent and the language of protest have become increasingly prominent.


At the Dwarka residence of Gauhar Raza and Shabnam Hashmi, visited by TOI, students, the hosts and their daughter gathered around the dining table for a discussion that stretched over several hours. While many participants were students from JNU, the conversations extended beyond campus politics to broader concerns affecting young people.

The discussion covered the recent protests, the challenges faced by students and what participants described as persistent stereotypes portraying Gen Z as politically indifferent or disengaged.

“We have all been part of activism as students ourselves, but we wanted to hear how this generation thinks, what drives it and what we can learn from it,” Raza said.

Similar discussions took place at the homes of other hosts. At her residence in Lajpat Nagar, historian Mridula Mukherjee said much of the conversation focused on students' experiences with the education system.

“We also wanted to hear how they mobilised (for the CJP stir), what they experienced and what they learnt from it,” she said, adding that students spoke about several challenges, including travelling to distant CUET examination centres, inadequate facilities at exam venues and the burden of appearing for multiple entrance tests.

For many students, the gathering also served as an opportunity to challenge common perceptions about their generation.

“We are politically and socially aware. We are rebellious and unconventional. We question things. Our methods may be different because social media has given us a different platform and language, but that should not be mistaken for apathy,” said Shubham, a JNU student.

Another participant, Md Shajid, also a JNU student from a farming family, said, “The recent protests were bound to happen because many young people feel disillusioned with conventional politics and political parties.”

Hashmi said, “This generation goes beyond class, caste and creed. That is why the agitation could not easily be fragmented along these lines.”