Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Mohan Bhagwat Defends Student Protests as Legitimate Democratic Dialogue
Mohan Bhagwat is the leader of the RSS, a big volunteer group in India.
He talked with students who were protesting.
He said it is okay for people to protest and disagree with the government.
In a democracy, that is one way people talk to their leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also listened to the students.
He said their ideas can help make better rules.
Long ago, in 1974, the government stopped student protests with force.
The article says listening is better than fighting.
Bhagwat also remembered a speech by B. R. Ambedkar and old teachings of Lord Buddha about peaceful meetings.
The article says the whole country should learn from this.
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said protest, dissent and agitations are a legitimate form of dialogue in a democracy.
Bhagwat called for continuous dialogue and debate, recalling B. R. Ambedkar's November 1949 Constituent Assembly speech.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with and listened to students to enrich policy rather than suppress agitations, the article says.
Modi has called some opinion-makers 'andolanjeevis' who, he says, fracture democracy and prevent dialogue.
The column cites the 1974 suppression of student demands under the Congress government and the eventual Emergency as a warning against treating protest as a state-versus-people issue.
- Who
- RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and student protesters in India
- What
- Bhagwat defended student protests and dissent as legitimate democratic dialogue and urged continuous debate
- When
- 2026, during the ongoing student protests
- Where
- India
- Why
- To counter the idea that protests devalue an elected government and to affirm that people's voices are the lifeblood of democracy
Protesters and dissenting intellectuals
Government and RSS supporters
Legitimacy of protests
Protesters and dissenting intellectuals
Protest, dissent and agitations are a legitimate form of dialogue, and every protest is not a referendum against the state.
Government and RSS supporters
Violent words and actions by a section of people damage the democratic tradition and the credibility of the agitations.
Role of opinion-makers
Protesters and dissenting intellectuals
Intellectuals who join farmers' and students' movements amplify the genuine voice of the people.
Government and RSS supporters
A class of prejudiced intellectuals, called 'andolanjeevis' by Modi, hijacks movements to fracture democracy and prevent dialogue.
Methods of protest
Protesters and dissenting intellectuals
Satyagraha and non-cooperation are legitimate, time-honoured forms of dissent.
Government and RSS supporters
B. R. Ambedkar called methods such as violent agitation, satyagraha and non-cooperation the 'grammar of anarchy' that must be abandoned.
- RSS Chief
- Mohan Bhagwat
- Prime Minister
- Narendra Modi
- Core message
- Protest, dissent and agitations are a legitimate form of dialogue
- Referenced speech
- B. R. Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly address, November 1949
- Historical reference
- 1974 suppression of student demands and the imposition of Emergency
- Modi's term for agitators
- Andolanjeevi
- Columnist
- Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP