The Online Generation That Governments Can’t Ignore
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[*]From #IndiaAgainstCorruption to Ladakh’s online campaigns, social media has become the new political street where silence or suppression is seen as betrayal by Gen Z.
[*] India leads the world in internet shutdowns, but blanket restrictions—seen in Kashmir and post-Wangchuk arrest—only fuel anger, making the state appear unresponsive.
[*] Ignoring online dissent or stifling it risks destabilising credibility, especially in sensitive regions like Ladakh. India must shift to a rights-based digital framework with transparency, restraint, and timely engagement.
Listen to the hashtags before they become hunger strikes.
Read the reels before they become riots.
Engage the youth before they become estranged.
When Nepal attempted to curb discontent by restricting social media―with the belief that it would stop the protest―it actually kindled a fuse. Dissent erupted out of cyberspace and onto the streets, leaving the state machinery broken. In Ladakh, the same error is being repeated, but in a different way. Young citizens voiced discomfort for months, demanding protection of their delicate environment and constitutional safeguards. Their understandable outrage was ignored.
Both cases reflect an underlying dynamics of today’s politics: crises will be stoked by either ignoring digital expression or by putting restrictions on them. Both strategies end up with the same result: clashes.
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Fury In The Cold Desert: Protests For Ladakh Statehood Turn Deadly
BY Ishfaq Naseem
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