The CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) protests and the Government’s response revealed something far bigger than a controversy over a leaked examination paper. They exposed a clash between two generations, each convinced that the other is fundamentally broken.

Ask the older generations about Gen Z and you’ll hear familiar complaints such as, they are intellectually lazy, with shrinking attention spans, declining reading habits and an inability to engage in nuanced debate.

During the CJP protests, many observed that the protest was more performative than purposeful, designed less to change minds and more to gather views, likes and followers.

Perhaps there is some truth in that. But the older generations have their own blind spots. Just ask a Gen Z, they’ll tell you… to your face and it’s equally unforgiving.

To them, Millennials and Boomers have confused emotional suppression with maturity. They say older generations buried their emotions beneath words like duty, honour and sacrifice. They find it silly that the oldies call burnout as dedication and see ‘people-pleasing’ as a virtue.

More importantly, they see us, the older generation, as a generation that grew up in homes built around authority rather than dialogue, where apologies were rare because those in power could never admit they were wrong.

During the CJP agitation, the Government, largely led by that older generation, displayed exactly those instincts. They didn’t want to admit they made a mistake, they didn’t want to admit that they were wrong.

In contrast, Gen Z has normalised emotional expression and self-care, though at times this slips into self-indulgence and selfishness.

Meanwhile, the older generations occupy the opposite extreme, where responsibility often degenerates into unhealthy self-sacrifice.

If Gen Z is accused of having an IQ problem, then the previous generations have an EQ problem.

One generation spoke before it thought. The other thought only after its ego had been bruised. The students lacked restraint. The Government lacked humility and neither side truly listened until the streets erupted.

The controversy also exposed the importance of proper language. This is not simply an IQ crisis or an EQ crisis. It is a crisis of linguistic wisdom.

Intelligence tells us what we CAN say. Emotional intelligence tells us what we SHOULD say, but wisdom tells us HOW and WHEN we should say it.

That is why the Chief Justice’s description of students as “cockroaches,” irrespective of the intended context, was deeply unfortunate.

Judges occupy perhaps the highest moral office in a democracy. They are expected not only to uphold the law but also to elevate public discourse through restraint, empathy and carefully chosen words.

Even a legally defensible remark can trigger unnecessary controversy if it is easily
misunderstood, as the word “cockroach” demonstrated.

Public life has a simple rule, which is to imbibe linguistic wisdom. If your words can predictably be misunderstood, choose better words.

CJP protestors did worse when it came to linguistic wisdom. Certainly, satire is intrinsic to protest but abuse is not.

Democracy unquestionably needs dissent but dissent loses its moral legitimacy when it ceases to persuade and instead seeks merely to humiliate.

One may fiercely oppose Narendra Modi. One may reject his policies entirely. One may even mock him. That is democracy. But dragging his late mother into political abuse is not dissent, it is hatred for an individual masquerading as activism.

Speech without responsibility is simply violence wearing the mask of free expression. Those who call themselves “liberal”, “secular” and “progressive” cannot demand civility from the political Right while celebrating vulgarity of the political Liberal Left.

The moment you justify the behaviour you condemn, your ideology loses its credibility. You become exactly what you claim to despise and the CJP protest has shown that India’s Left-liberals have become what they despise; they have become sexists, misogynists and extremists.

The CJP protests ultimately demonstrated that the older generations often mistake having authority for deserving respect and Gen Z too often mistakes irreverence for courage.

Neither is correct.

If India is to avoid turning every disagreement into a generational battlefield, both sides must borrow from the strengths of the other.

Gen Z could benefit from deeper reading, greater patience and a renewed respect for  nuanced civil discourse.

Older generations could benefit from humility, emotional openness and the courage to admit, “We made a mistake.”

It is clear that the future belongs neither to the highest IQ nor the highest EQ. It belongs to those wise enough to cultivate both and it begins with decent and kind language.

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