New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) Today’s generation is more mature and they should be encouraged to work for the country’s growth rather than being politicised, ABVP national general secretary Dr Virendra Singh Solanki has said.
Solanki also cautioned students against misleading social media content that can affect the country’s “social integrity and unity”.
In an interview with PTI, Solanki said educational institutions should not be politicised. He also stressed that students’ issues should be raised and resolved in a proper manner.
“Gen Alpha is currently studying in schools, up to Classes 10 and 12. This is a very mature generation. If you compare today’s Gen Alpha with earlier generations, they are smarter and more tech-savvy,” he said.
“They have information at their fingertips. They understand things. Therefore, I don’t think there is a need to politicise them, nor should we,” Solanki said.
He, however, said young people should be encouraged to think about the country and its future.
“When they move forward in their careers, they should think not only about their own careers but also about the country’s future. When the youth of a country starts thinking in that direction, I think they will contribute to the country’s progress,” he said.
On the influence of social media on student politics, Solanki said platforms such as Instagram and YouTube do influence students’ minds and can evoke emotional responses to particular incidents.
“There is an influence. But I think students today need to move forward with awareness,” he said, adding that students need to assess which content is beneficial and which could have a damaging impact on society.
He said young people should understand how certain content can affect the country’s “social integrity and unity”.
“If that understanding develops among India’s young people, I think no force will be able to misguide them,” Solanki said.
On Gen Z’s role in politics and student politics, Solanki said the behaviour of a few youngsters should not define the entire generation.
“You cannot define the entire country’s Gen Z generation based on the behaviour of some students during Jantar Mantar, the abuses they used or the reels they made,” he said.
Solanki claimed that Gen Z broadly is aligned with the concept of “nation first” and wants India to progress and emerge stronger internationally.
India’s startup ecosystem and young professionals in different fields are examples of the younger generation’s contribution, the general secretary added.
On the NEET-UG protests, Solanki said student grievances were genuine but alleged that political groups and outsiders subsequently pushed the agitation towards a “political agenda”.
He alleged that people associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, the youth wing of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress’s NSUI were involved in the protests.
Outsiders also participated and created disorder, he said.
“You can see from the videos that a student preparing for NEET would not attack the police. More than 100 police officers were injured. Attacking the police and behaving aggressively with them is not something that medical or pre-medical students would do,” he said.
Solanki said the ABVP had supported the students’ demands and was among the first organisations to protest over the NEET issue.
“We immediately demanded a CBI inquiry as well. We said there should be no compromise,” he said.
“We worked towards finding a solution. We did not have a political agenda. Our objective was to address the students’ problems and ensure justice for them,” he said,
Solanki said institutional reforms, rather than merely demanding resignations, were needed to address such issues.
“You cannot solve every problem simply by demanding someone’s resignation. Resignation is not the ultimate solution. You don’t change the driver if a vehicle has a problem,” he said.
On the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest, Solanki described it as “100 per cent politics” and alleged that the organisation did not emerge during the NTA examinations but existed before them.
“CJP did not emerge to support NEET students. It came up before that and for political reasons, and later the protests were also given a political colour,” he said.
The protest led by CJP began at Jantar Mantar on June 20 and saw thousands of students demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over irregularities in the exam system and the NEET paper leak.
The 36-day agitation ended after the government accepted key demands and Pradhan resigned as Union education minister.
On employment, Solanki said better opportunities and career options should be created for youth.
He said the National Education Policy had introduced skill-based and vocational courses that could create more opportunities, and urged youth to look beyond government jobs.
“Why should young people in our country think only about government services?” he said.
“Our youth should be willing to explore. If they explore and innovate, they will move towards entrepreneurship. If entrepreneurship grows, it will give momentum to the economy, and ultimately benefit the country,” Solanki said. PTI KSH APL
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