"Indian system bent, didn't break," said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as he commended India's resilient democracy in the wake of the recent Gen Z protests.
At the NDTV World Anviksha Summit, the former diplomat gave a masterclass in political systems in South Asia, the Gen Z protests in the region, and how India is different from other countries that have seen their young population take to the streets.
Talking about the Gen Z protests, Tharoor pointed out that six major South Asian countries have seen protests by their young citizens in the past decade or so.
"Starting with Myanmar protests in 2012, then we saw young people hitting the streets in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and recently in India," Tharoor pointed out.
"They were all manifestations of Gen Z anger in one way or the other."
He then went on to describe in detail how different political systems reacted to each one of those.
"The difference among them is of the political systems in these countries and how the political establishment responded and dealt with them," Tharoor stated.
He then elaborated.
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"In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the rulers couldn't face the situation and had to flee, and new rulers came in. Nepal also saw a regime change but not the same as in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Here there were fresh elections and a new government came in. In Pakistan the military took over and installed what we call a puppet government. Military took over in Myanmar."
Tharoor then went on to describe how India is different from all the other countries. He pointed to the "self-correcting mechanism in the Indian political system" that ensured the voice of Gen Z was heard."
"In India, however, the mechanism is self-correcting. There is a democratic system which adapted itself to the new reality with astonishing speed," Tharoor opined.
He added that due to a functioning and strong democratic set-up, the government had to respond to the demands of the young protesters.
"No one expected the BJP government, which has been impervious to public demands for resignations, to respond. The Opposition has asked for resignations at least half a dozen times. Nothing happened. Suddenly, you have a minister's resignation. The recognition that democracy needs to be nimble enough to recognise a public reality and respond to it is a tribute to the Indian system."
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"Our system bent and didn't break. That is a huge difference," Tharoor concluded.
The response of the Indian polity to the anger of the youth, Tharoor said, gives him hope as an opposition leader.
"That is an encouraging way for us to go forward. The Indian example gives me encouragement as an opposition leader that our democracy has flexibility and receptivity to respond to popular currents."
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