A lot of national time including the media/TV time are focusing on the protest at the recently-concluded AI summit. It has been seen as undignified because shirts were removed by Congress workers but it was in no way lewd and disparaging. In recent decades, Indians as a people have become very sensitive to how the country’s image and perception is seen overseas. Youth will react in any way they wish to, and in this case, the protest was peaceful and came in no one’s way. If the protest is seen as tarnishing India’s image, one wonders what one would say about corruption, our dirty streets, the mistreatment of tourists and so many other issues which have the potential to tarnish a government’s image. Youth are a majority of our population and their protests minus apparel should make the authorities wonder why. Will AI eliminate jobs? In a poorly educated country, what do summits such as this mean for the aam aadmi who just wants a decent job? These youth were concerned about this and that should be addressed.
