Lamakaan was packed and people spilled over to the street in Banjara Hills as three panellists spoke on ‘Do we need a radical youth movement for these new times?’ for the 3rd Hasan Memorial Lecture.
“We have saviours during elections but they disappear once the elections are over. It is not just the ruling party leaders whose assets multiply. Even opposition leaders’ assets multiply. We have to disturb this status quo. We need to ask hard questions about policy on Artificial Intelligences, about solar energy, about nuclear energy and about jobs. We have to change the narrative beyond cow, communalism and caste. We need to force change,” said Shehla Rashid, a student union leader from Delhi.
Jignesh Mevani, who led the protest movement against lynching of Dalits in Gujarat said the youth were looking for jobs.
Campaign planned
“I am planning a campaign in Ahmedabad demanding ‘ Gai ki pooch aap rakho humko 2 crore rozgar do (keep the cow’s tail give us 2 crore jobs)’. All the youth movements should come together only then we can create a difference. We may have differences but we should team up against the rise of fascism,” said Mr. Mevani, giving his recipe for radical youth movement.
“There is lot of disinformation that is happening online. Many people who are not very well informed get swayed by that fake information. Our job is to convince a section of middle class that it is in their interest to care about others in this war of technology. They should take an active part in the way information shapes our thinking,” said Pratik Sinha, who runs a website that fact-checks news stories and social media messages.
