After Gen Z, India’s ‘Gen Alpha’ now launches its own movement

Following the recent movement by India’s “Gen Z” youth against exam paper leaks and unemployment, an unprecedented wave of protest has now begun in the country’s schools. Following in Gen Z’s footsteps, the country’s youngest generation ,”Gen Alpha”  has taken to the streets demanding education reform, safe school buildings, and basic facilities.

According to a report by international media outlet Al Jazeera, this movement has spread simultaneously across government schools in at least 10 Indian states. Gen Alpha children — students at the primary and secondary level — in rural areas of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh are boycotting classes and taking part in sloganeering.

School boycotts and children’s demands: At a government primary school in Samuhi Bhatpurwa village, Uttar Pradesh, 122 students refused to enter their classrooms and launched a protest. Priya, just 8 years old, said that in 2023 a dilapidated wall at their school collapsed, seriously injuring a classmate. Despite repeated demands, no new building was constructed, forcing them into this protest. They returned home only after receiving assurances from the administration.

Similarly, in Parli, Maharashtra, young students protested against a shortage of teachers, and in Simuara village, Bihar, they walked nearly four kilometers to submit a memorandum to a district official protesting substandard mid-day meals.

Background of the movement: India has more than 250 million students in total. Although official data claims infrastructural improvements, the reality on the ground tells a different story. More than 100,000 schools in the country reportedly have only a single teacher handling all grades. Many schools face severe shortages of basic necessities such as clean drinking water, electricity, adequate benches, and toilets.

Recently, Gen Z youth, led by a satirical organization called the “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP), built a massive nationwide movement protesting exam paper leaks. Under pressure from that movement, India’s Education Minister Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan was forced to resign. Building on the momentum of that movement, CJP launched a “Fix the Schools” campaign, which has further encouraged these Gen Alpha students.

According to political analysts and educationists, more than 30 percent of India’s total population is under the age of 18. A large portion of them will become eligible voters in the 2029 general election. As a result, this awakening among Gen Alpha is being seen as a major political and social challenge for India’s current ruling establishment.