RSS chief disagrees with anti-national tag for youth protesters; says if Gen Z is shouting, it is because they face problems that must be resolved; calls for law allowing same sex couples to stay together, not marry
Gen Z’s grievances are genuine and need to be addressed, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said on Thursday (August 6, 2026). Speaking days after the massive youth protest at Jantar Mantar, the RSS chief said that protest is a way of dialogue in a democracy, and that it should be used to evolve a consensus.
He was participating in an interview at an event organised by India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN), a youth-run nonprofit, at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.
Disagreeing with the tag of “anti-nationals” slapped on the young protestors by some people, Mr. Bhagwat said that Gen Z was, in fact, much more honest than his generation. “They are not anti-national. They are our own next generation. They have to be addressed with that relation. There has to be love,” he said.
‘Protest should aim for consensus’
Emphasising that the goal of an agitation should be to create consensus, he said that the current generation of youth was markedly different from the previous generations. “When we were Gen Z, we listened to what our elders told us. Now, Gen Z asks questions. They want logical answers. They want love too. This should be there,” he said.
“In a democracy, debate is important. We get so many new opinions. They together form a total view of the truth. Debate should happen. The methods have been laid out in the Constitution by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. We too have to see that if Gen Z is shouting, they are doing so due to problems. We need to resolve the issues they face,” he added.
Law for same sex couples
The event’s organisers said that the questions Mr. Bhagwat was asked — on topics ranging from LGBTQI rights, women’s empowerment, social media use, and educational reforms, to India’s relations with Pakistan and China, reservation policies, climate change, and unemployment — were collected from members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The interview was moderated by IIMUN’s Rishabh Shah, who was cheered by the crowd when he asked questions about youth being labelled as anti-national, empowerment of women within the RSS, and the Sangh’s stance on same sex marriages.
Mr. Bhagwat called for a law to allow same sex companions to stay together, though not in the form of a marriage. “LGBTQIs are a part of our community. But in our community, marriage is not a convenience created for two persons to stay together. It is an institution. Family is the unit of society where the next generation is trained by their relations,” he said.
“That is also an ancient system running. If we disturb an existing system, and we don’t have new systems, that will create a conflict. We can’t mix these things. Prepare a system which can accommodate all these people. But the manner has to change. In this situation, same sex companions can stay together, we have to devise some system and form a law for that. That law should be acceptable to the society,” he added.
‘Education is not a business’
Asked about the lathi charge against youth protesters in Delhi last month, Mr. Bhagwat said that he trusted the Gen Z, but that complete information about the incident will have to be known before he could comment.
He emphasised the importance of self-discipline regarding young people’s use of social media. Asked about educational reforms, he said that education should not be treated like a commercial business. “It is a necessity of life. Its structure should be such that it should be accessible to all,” he said.
‘Permanent hatred not a solution’
When Mr. Bhagwat was asked if the reservation policy was still relevant, he said that Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts on it should be followed, adding that the policy itself was not wrong, but that the intention behind its implementation should be pure. “Those who wield the sword are holding it wrongly,” he said.
On India’s relations with Pakistan and China, he said that civilian interactions and ties should be continued during peacetime. “In times of conflict, we have to go with our government. But that should not sever ties which are already there. China says, for 2000 years, Bharat has given them some values. These ties cannot be severed. They can be put on hold during conflict. But after the resolution of conflict, we have to pick up from where we left. Permanent hatred is not the solution,” he said.
Published – August 06, 2026 06:43 pm IST
