Child is the Father of Man

A demand met, and a stir closed. What interests me between raising the ask and closing the protest; were some shades of youth we can choose to ignore but can’t. This is not a political post, and does not invite debate from any corner on the intent, process and participants of the resistance. No matter who they are, and no matter what their intent; if we are not turning a blind eye, we would see far beyond the brute force of stubborn youth.

Noel Harare’s Sapiens: a brief history of humankind’; speaks of Homo Sapiens’ ability to collaborate at large scale and use language as primary reasons for survival of the race. Well then, one could see in recent resistance by youth that the homo sapiens are still going strong. Massive collaborations took place in different geographies; which were tied in through unique symbolism and expression. Language unique to the sub-group, which tied them together and stood them out ,forms core identity of a coming of age generation. One may doubt, mock, hold them in contempt; but they have registered their presence loud and clear.

A generation grew up and went back home with a world view perhaps starkly different from what they came in with. The light hearted banter, the countless Insta reels, and the humour in the face of serious threats is the new face of resistance. The idea of this post is not to comment on the process, participants and outcomes. Debates on these shall continue in other forums. Also the outcome of the process also has deeply layered implications which is beyond the scope of the intent of this post. It is difficult to ignore however, that in the dead of night; and in close proximity of the bursting crowds of men of all ages; young girls/women stood as equal partners. This speaks louder than any other achievement. Also reverse socialisation (shift in parental cultural beliefs brought about by their children) is possibly another dominant outcome.