Archive · 18 Aug 2026
'Why glamourise street protests?': Kanwal Sibal warns against foreign exploitation
Kanwal Sibal shared his thoughts about young people and street protests.
He said it is okay that young people worry about not finding jobs.
But he said big street protests are not a good way to solve problems.
He said protests in Nepal and Bangladesh did not help.
He also warned that people from inside and outside the country might use young people's anger to cause trouble.
Sibal said words like Gen Z and Millennials come from Western countries.
He thinks India should use its own words to describe its young people.
Shashi Tharoor reacted by sharing an essay written by a Pakistani activist.
The essay said young people in India and Pakistan have similar problems, such as exam leaks and poverty.
It also said the protest in India gave hope to young people in Pakistan.
Kanwal Sibal said street protests should not be glamourised, noting 'nothing good' has come from such street mobilisation in Nepal and Bangladesh.
He cautioned that internal and external forces want to use youth mobilisation to destabilise the country.
Sibal said genuine problems like youth unemployment could be converted into an anti-government or anti-regime movement.
He criticised Western generational labels such as Gen Z, Gen X and Millennials as 'western social characterisations,' urging India to be 'rooted in our own sociology.'
Shashi Tharoor asked whether Gen-Z can bring change to Pakistan, citing a Pakistani activist's article referencing the NEET paper leak protest led by Abhijeet Dipike and Sonam Wangchuk, which led to then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
- Who
- Kanwal Sibal, who warned against glamourising street protests; Shashi Tharoor, who reacted to an article by a Pakistani activist.
- What
- A warning that street protests should not be glamourised and that genuine youth concerns could be exploited by internal and external forces to destabilise India.
- When
- August 18, 2026.
- Where
- India, with references to Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Delhi, Lahore and Karachi.
- Why
- Because genuine problems such as youth unemployment and exam leaks could be turned into anti-government movements.
Protest advocates
Critics of street mobilisation
Street protests as a tool for change
Protest advocates
The Pakistani activist called the protest in India 'refreshing and full of hope' and urged educating, uniting and mobilising youngsters now.
Critics of street mobilisation
Sibal said nothing good has come from street mobilisation in Nepal and Bangladesh and questioned why street protests should be glamourised.
Cross-border youth solidarity
Protest advocates
Young people in India and Pakistan share common problems of unemployment, poverty and poor living standards; 'If you can stand up in Delhi, it gives a little more oxygen to a student in Lahore or Karachi.'
Critics of street mobilisation
Sibal said internal and external forces want to take advantage of genuine concerns and convert them into an anti-regime movement to destabilise the country.
Use of Western generational labels
Protest advocates
Tharoor engaged with the Gen-Z framing, calling it 'fascinating' that a sensitive Pakistani voice mirrors the same concerns as Gen-Z in India.
Critics of street mobilisation
Sibal called Gen Z, Gen X and Millennials western social characterisations adopted 'slavishly,' allowing foreign influence to permeate negatively the thinking of Indian youngsters.
- Speaker
- Kanwal Sibal
- Date of remarks
- August 18, 2026
- Countries cited
- Nepal and Bangladesh
- Key risk flagged
- Youth mobilisation used to destabilise the country
- Western terms questioned
- Gen Z, Gen X, Millennials
- Related protest
- NEET paper leak protest
- Protest leaders
- Abhijeet Dipike and Sonam Wangchuk
- Protest outcome
- Resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan