The following is a speech delivered by Justice A.P. Shah at a September event by the Citizens for Democracy, in Pune, on the youth protests across India. Citizens for Democracy is a civil society organisation and formed in India under the presidentship of Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974. The speech was originally titled ‘Voices without fear: Reclaiming democracy on the streets’.IntroductionFriends and fellow defenders of the Republic, it is a privilege to stand before you today to address a subject that goes to the very heart of our nation and identity. We come together at a time when the foundational principles of our democracy, be they secularism, minority rights, freedom of speech, or the right to peaceful assembly, face unprecedented strain, and yet, a beacon of light has been shown to us, which we should take note of, celebrate and take forward.Before I proceed, I must thank Mr Hiremath and Prof. Anand Kumar for their continued and relentless commitment to the ideals with which Citizens for Democracy was founded, and thank them especially for inviting me today to share my thoughts here.To understand our present challenge, which also gives context for the title of my speech today, we must look back to April 1974, to the origins of CFD.CFD was founded by Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, with the first edition of its conference aptly held at the Gandhi Peace Foundation. Alongside JP were legal luminaries like Justice V.M. Tarkunde, Justice M.C. Chagla, and journalists like Kuldip Nayar.They gathered together because the nation was facing a severe political, economic, and moral crisis.The circumstances are important to note: Authoritarian trends were rising under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Power politics had impacted moral standards across public life. Economic hardship and inflation had severely affected everyday lives. Power was being centralised and the independent character of public institutions was being weakened. The executive increasingly demanded compliance from bodies like the judiciary, treating dissent as a threat.All this was cumulatively a direct threat to the fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution. For many, it became clear that electoral politics alone could not safeguard our democratic values. Citizens from various walks of life realised they had to step forward themselves, to protect our constitutional values.As Justice Tarkunde noted at the founding conference, political parties focused on electoral survival cannot be the agents of moral regeneration. India required an independent civil society platform dedicated solely to defending constitutional values without seeking political power.The challenges of 1974 sound uncannily similar to our current reality, do they not?In the 1970s, the political executive attempted to control the judiciary by superseding senior judges after the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment. Today, a similar strain on constitutional bodies can be seen, with judicial independence and the credibility of institutions like the Election Commission facing continuous pressure from executive dominance.In the 1970s, the state weaponised laws like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, or MISA, against political opponents. Today, arguably, we are in an environment of an undeclared Emergency, with laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, being used against scholars, activists, and even students.Dissenters are regarded not merely as political opponents. They are today considered threats to the state, just like five decades ago. University students or journalists or professors, or even retired bureaucrats, who ask questions about unemployment, the economy, governance, or constitutional rights are vilified as ‘anti-national’ or labelled with pejorative terms.Today’s crisis also bears the additional character of increased communal hostility. Religion is openly used as a political tool, and used to destabilise social harmony, to target minority communities, to reinforce majoritarian might, and sometimes, to divert public attention from economic failures.Gandhi said that “Real Swaraj does not come from the acquisition of power by a few, but from the capacity of the many to resist when power is abused.” Just as when CFD was founded, now is once again the time to recognise the power of peaceful public protest. Protests are a constitutional safeguard when institutions fail to, or cannot, protect civil liberties.Today, young people across the country are demonstrating precisely that Gandhian “capacity of the many to resist”. I want to spend a little time understanding the idea of the street as a constitutional space, why we should be scared of the shrinking space for dissent and inquiry, and why standing with the youth is so important today, more so than ever.The street as a constitutional spaceThe basic idea of democracy ingrained in us is usually reduced to a simple transaction: you walk into a polling booth, press a button on a voting machine, and then return home, only to wait for five years, and repeat this cycle all over again. But such reductionism can be dangerous.Unfortunately, in a democracy, its own legal and institutional machinery can be, and has been, used to dismantle it. The assault on freedom does not happen in a single, dramatic attack. It creeps upon us slowly, what they call ‘a death by a thousand cuts’.Here, I am reminded of the thesis propounded by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt in their work, How Democracies Die, where they list four indicators that signal risks to a democratic system: firstly, there is a weak commitment to, or even an outright rejection of, democratic rules of the game. Secondly, political opponents and rival leaders begin to be treated as existential threats, not a legitimate opposition. Thirdly, violence is tolerated, or sometimes encouraged, condoned, or not condemned. Fourthly and finally, civil liberties are curtailed with impunity, which is accompanied by the suppression of critical voices, including the press, and the silencing of the opposition. All this is done in the guise of national security, or routine reform. And if you look closely enough, we can see these four indicators playing out in our country as well.Here is where we need to think bigger and beyond the ballot. The mark of a true democracy is continuous public vigilance. This is especially true when we find that formal institutions, such as courts, the press, or state agencies, grow quiet, or in the worst case, complicit. In such a case, the street becomes the venue where constitutionalism must converge. Dissent, particularly, becomes the oxygen that lets a nation breathe. Taking to the street is a symbol of being a courageous citizen, rather than an obedient subject.Historical precedentsKeeping with this theme, it is not a stretch to say that the history of human freedoms has been written on the streets, and that too, by young people.In post-independent India, when the state became overbearing, the Navnirman Andolan, the Gujarat student agitation of 1973–74, proved how a localized protest, whose catalyst was an increase in university hostel food charges, could turn into an anti-corruption movement that made a Chief Minister resign. This led to Jayaprakash Narayan’s historic Sampoorna Kranti movement in Bihar, reminding the ruling class that they serve the people, not the other way around. It was also then that JP was given the title of “Loknayak” by a young Lalu Prasad Yadav. This was a major precursor to the nationwide Emergency of 1975, and of course, as they say, the rest is history.Looking beyond India, globally, many more examples can be found.In the early 1960s, when civil rights campaigns led by adults came to a standstill in the United States in 1963, thousands of students peacefully marched for desegregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Referred to as the 1963 Children’s Crusade, visuals of the march shook the world: school children had to face high-pressure fire hoses, they were clubbed by police officers, and attacked by police dogs. Hundreds were even arrested. This eventually paved the way for the historic Civil Rights Act in the US.A decade or so later, in South Africa in 1976, the Soweto uprising took place near Johannesburg, where schoolchildren marched through the township of Soweto to protest the forced imposition of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in classrooms. An estimated 20,000 students participated, only to be met with police brutality. Hundreds were shot dead. It became clear to all that the collapse of apartheid was inevitable. Today, 16 June is called Youth Day, and is a public holiday in South Africa.The evolution of youth protests in the digital ageWith the coming of the digital age, the nature of youth protest has changed quite fundamentally.The new generation is highly educated and globally connected, yet it faces the same problems everywhere – economic exclusion, unfulfilled employment promises, and shrinking freedoms. For them, digital spaces and physical streets are connected arenas. Online tools help keep the state accountable; they can use them to share information in real-time and build public solidarity. And physical assembly, where multitudes gather, puts a face to demands of such political accountability.This model of youth mobilization has been seen in action across the world especially in the last few years.In Bangladesh in 2024, student-led protests started with a demand for reforms in civil service recruitment. It transformed into a national movement for governance reform, eventually forcing the political leadership to step down.In Nepal in 2025, frustration with systemic corruption and sudden arbitrary restrictions on digital platforms brought students onto Kathmandu’s streets. Young protesters used popular digital symbols to represent their demand for freedom. Demonstrations seeking political change were decentralized. Finally, the old guard was dismantled, and early general elections were held in March 2026, with a massive turnout of newly registered young voters. The new Rastriya Swatantra Party won by a record margin, and a former rapper and structural engineer who championed the Gen Z movement, Balendra Shah, became Nepal’s youngest-ever Prime Minister.In Madagascar in 2025, university students, under the banner of “Gen Z Mada”, came together to protest basic governance failures, such as water and power shortages. It quickly turned into a movement against corruption, bad governance, and economic stagnation. Over 20 were killed, and 100+ injured. This is a live case, and political transitions are still in flux. Last year, President Rajoelina was impeached and forced to flee into exile. The military then took over. This month, Madagascar’s former Senate president was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour for the security crackdown against the protesters, but there are concerns that the military leadership is as autocratic as its predecessor.Elsewhere, in Indonesia and the Philippines in 2025, young citizens took to the streets to protest public corruption and institutional misuse. In Jakarta and Yogyakarta, student groups organized against excessive official privileges, while in Manila, youth assemblies occupied public parks to demand independent audits of public infrastructure funds.India’s 2026 CJP protestsIn India, of course, we all know of the extraordinary mid-2026 protests, which followed the cancellation of the NEET medical entrance exam due to paper leaks that had tragically led to student suicides. Tens of thousands of young students peacefully occupying the streets were made to face police lathi charges and tear gas at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Yet, they stood their ground, and demanded accountability.To me, what is most fascinating about this is the instant solidarity amongst the youth in subverting what was essentially an exercise in judicial condescension. After Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, during a hearing in May this year, referred to unemployed youth and social media activists as “parasites” and “cockroaches”, a bunch of students launched the Cockroach Janata Party on social media as a satirical play on the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the tagline “Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed”. Within days, CJP’s Instagram account had over 20 million followers, much higher than the follower count of the BJP. There were no top-down party hierarchies. There was no gatekeeping of membership. Anyone could be a part of the CJP. The entry threshold was zero. This allowed young people who participated to feel like active co-creators of a movement.Through satire, viral reels, and digital campaigns, young protesters dismantled the image of current political leaders. By parodying official slogans, such as, turning “Make in India” into “Leak in India”, and mocking strongman personas, the spotlight was turned on the government’s refusal to address its failures. Students basically created an alternative social media arena to document ground realities and police actions.In fact, this was a great example of how important and powerful accurate information is, and its role in enabling citizens to make meaningful democratic choices. Of particular note is the fact that the student protestors bypassed mainstream media channels, which carry their own baggage. Mainstream media broadcasted state propaganda on the one hand, but on social media, direct video evidence emerged, of the protests, and of the violence that followed. Two parallel realities emerged, and it was open for everyone to choose which they wanted to believe.The crisis facing our youthAt this stage, it is important to understand what prompted these protests. At the heart of the matter lies the deep anxieties of the youth about everyday survival, and very simply, their future. The catalyst for these 2026 protests, the NEET exam leaks, was only that – it set off the trigger, but even in and of itself, it showed how the promise of meritocracy has been broken in India.Systemic corruption and repeated paper leaks in national testing agencies destroyed the dreams of millions. In the NEET exam alone, over two million young students were impacted, and over 20 young people tragically took their own lives as a result. The leaks implied that hard work no longer guarantees a fair chance. Naturally, public anger was inevitable, and even justified.This crisis of examinations is directly tied to the crisis of employment. India might be experiencing growth, but fails to create decent jobs for its young people. India produces approximately 5 million graduates annually, but only 2.8 million find employment. Less than 5% of those who find work secure permanent, salaried positions.Global developments have not really helped either. Stagnant White-collar job growth is stagnating and employability gaps are widening due to risks from artificial intelligence. In 2025–26, the unemployment rate for graduates was at 14.5%, more than double the national rate. Another statistic is alarming — university graduates account for two-thirds of all unemployed 20–29-year-olds. This shows that educated young citizens bear the heaviest burden of joblessness. Another statistic tells us that over 100 million young Indians are currently not in education, employment, or training.Even those who eventually do find work are pushed into informal, gig-based, or short-term contractual jobs. They live without job security, health benefits, or any real hope for career advancement. As a compound effect of all this, many educated youngsters risk a lower standard of living than their parents.While the debate right now might be around higher education and graduate jobs, it begins at the primary level. Government primary and rural schools across states suffer from vacant teaching posts, no access to basic facilities like drinking water or usable toilets. It was no surprise that the student agitation expanded into the “School Thik Karo” campaign, by conducting basic school audits, because the youth are closest to the ground, they recognise that the problem starts there.Threats to constitutional guaranteesThese concerns – education and employment – are what brought youth protestors together. What is important for us to realise and acknowledge is that, however you slice it, these are universal problems. They affect everyone, in equal measure, and the country as a whole. Beyond statistics, a lack of education and lack of job opportunities impact the entire society, no one is spared.The protests embraced precisely this genuine cross-communal nature of things. Across castes and religions, meals were shared on the pavement, people sheltered together in places of worship, and jointly rejected a politics of hatred. They showed that reclaiming democracy on the streets starts by building unity on shared constitutional ideals, like justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, and that narrow religious identities have no role to play here.Unfortunately, this sentiment is not always shared by our political leadership. The state today actively uses mechanisms to reinforce majoritarian dominance.The outcome is there for all to see. Minority communities end up being socially and economically marginalised. Homes are demolished without due process, mob violence is unpunished, and the less said about the Special Intensive Revision electoral process, the better – a classic example of a selective administrative drive that threatens to disenfranchise certain sections of the population. Equal citizenship is becoming a rare and precious commodity in India these days.Sometimes, I fear that the leadership forgets that secularism is not negotiable. As the Supreme Court held in the S.R. Bommai case, secularism is an unalterable part of the basic structure of our Constitution. Using state power to target minorities or enforce uniformity in any other name directly violates this core idea.Communalism and the accompanying atmosphere of fear is particularly evident in the institutional capture of higher education. Independent educational institutions are buckling to ideological control. Critical inquiry is discouraged, and conformity is demanded. The government has sidestepped independent academic talent to install loyalists in administrative and academic posts at universities. And we all know enough about the many curricular revisions and the rewriting of history textbooks.Consider also how dissent is treated in this atmosphere.When student movements emerge, the state’s instant reflex is to resort to containment rather than engagement. Peaceful student marches and sit-ins are met with lathi charges, tear gas, and police deployment. In New Delhi itself, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployed plastic and hard metallic pellet munitions capable of organ damage. Police also routinely file FIRs against student demonstrators, and with that one document, injured victims are turned into persons accused of crime. In some extreme cases, draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are used to intimidate young activists. Official rhetoric labels student dissenters as “anti-nationals”, “urban Naxals”, “foreign-funded toolkits”, or “dimagi Naxals”. This is deliberate and strategic, designed to keep critics at bay.Yet, this youth movement has tried to neutralise this authoritarian playbook designed to crush dissent. By coming together on universal issues, they showed that rights and freedoms cut across all divides.What the youth movement has achievedIndeed, when we look at the courage of our young citizens over the past few months, we see what can be achieved when citizens refuse to be intimidated. A shining example was executive accountability. By standing firm and documenting failures, they forced the Union Education Minister to accept responsibility for the NEET paper leaks and eventually resign. Surely, this was a huge victory in itself.More importantly, this generation has shattered the climate of fear that has prevailed in India over this past decade or so. In recent years, many independent voices have been stifled, but these young people have shown that fearlessness can indeed be reclaimed. They faced intimidation, even brute force of the police, yet they boldly refused to be silenced.They also resisted state propaganda and attempts at character assassination. Authorities tried to dismiss them as state enemies, calling them all kinds of names, tagging them with all sorts of monikers. But the youth stayed focused, they highlighted facts. They showed how basic rights and futures are at stake.Most encouraging of all is the fact that these young protesters brought a fresh democratic spirit back to our public spaces. It was not pedantic or academic or theoretical. They used the language of the modern era, they used humour, they used satire, and most of all, they came in peace. They asked direct questions of the powers that be, in a manner that reinforced their duty as citizens.Above everything else, this movement has reassured India and Indians. It has reminded us that democracy in this country remains alive and resilient.What lies aheadThese protests, I would say, are only the beginning. The rest of society now has a clear responsibility. The burden of defending democracy is surely not to be left entirely or only to the young. As they say, the ball is now in our court, the larger populace, and everyone is watching each other and ourselves closely: how do we respond to the erosion of our rights, or this creeping authoritarianism, or the sword of majoritarianism? We can choose to stand by and remain quiet, or raise our voice, and ask more questions and demand even more answers.There is also something to be gleaned about the limits of traditional party politics, especially in the digital era. This is a template for how ordinary citizens can organise themselves independently, and build non-partisan civil society platforms to monitor government performance, while also making efforts to protect civil liberties.Another aspect that emerges is the significance of mobilising public opinion around universal concerns. Focusing on issues that transcend caste and religion, such as education and jobs, unite people and make efforts at partisanal divisions ineffective and meaningless.A combination of a creative use of digital spaces and careful documentation is also very important. Social media that allows first-person reporting lowers the barrier for public participation hugely, and brings facts to the fore quicker than ever. The Right to Information Act, however weak it might be, is also still an important tool available to all of us, which can be put to good use.Finally, we must demand genuine accountability, of all arms of the state, including the judiciary, in protecting democratic rights in India. Mass disenfranchisement is a particular risk facing our citizens today. The judiciary, in particular, must ensure that vulnerable citizens are not stripped of their voting rights through an administrative exercise that has not been constitutionally tested.Democracy lives as long as citizens refuse to let fear silence their voices. The street remains the ultimate space where our constitutional values are defended.Thank you.Justice A.P. Shah was chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India and retired as the Chief Justice of Delhi high court.