Gen Z rebels must contend with India’s delulu democracy

Last Saturday, with the sudden exit of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a protest in Mumbai’s Bandra neighbourhood called to demand his resignation was transformed into a victory rally. The waterfront resounded with whoops of triumph.

But in a community hall down the road, the mood was markedly different. As volunteers helped visitors fill out forms for the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls underway in 16 states and three Union Territories, the room was filled with murmurs of aggravation and sighs of frustration.

A mere 750 metres separated the two venues, but the visions of India they represented were worlds apart.

At the amphitheatre on the waterfront, the supporters of the youth protests against the mismanagement of national examinations (and more) were aiming to deepen democracy, to pressure the government to listen to the voices of the people who had voted them to power.

In the community hall, however, the government machinery had been deployed to conduct an exercise that views every Indian with suspicion and casts doubt on the fact that their voices are actually legitimate.

The government says that it is conducting the revision to remove the names of voters who have died or moved away.

But many believe that a more pernicious endeavour is unfolding: the revision is...

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