Youth protests have become widespread in South Asia in recent times, including in India and Bangladesh. Professor Nayanika Mookherjee from our Anthropology Department explores how the protests could help shape a better future for South Asia.
In articles for The Wire and New Age, Professor Mookherjee suggests that the recent student-led protests in Bangladesh, India and elsewhere in South Asia show the shared struggles over education, employment, freedom of expression and state power.
In spite of geopolitical tensions in South Asia, she suggests that the youth movements could create new connections between young people across borders. It could also lead to a more positive future given their collective concerns about the uncertainty of climate change, the emergence of AI and global tensions in times of ‘great power’ transformation
In India, the Cockroach movement has built a large following particularly among Gen Z and protests have culminated in the resignation of India’s Education Minister. This uprising follows others across South Asia in recent years, including in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh leading to regime change in those countries.
The youth movements in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and India have been a force of inspiration for each other, despite their differences
The articles, written by Professor Mookherjee, consider how common experiences of surveillance, censorship, economic insecurity and political controversy are shaping a new wave of South Asian activism. This is particularly common among younger generations committed to democratic participation and social justice.
Professor Nayanika Mookherjee is an Indian Bengali scholar of political anthropology at Durham University who has carried out research in Bangladesh for nearly 30 years.
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