Protesters demand the resignation of India’s education minister in New Delhi on July 24. | Saumya Khandelwal / The New York Times
Jul 30, 2026
The Generation Z protests that convulsed the streets of Indian cities in recent weeks began with dreams dashed in the classrooms of India’s schools.
This is the Achilles’ heel of India’s demographic promise: It has the world’s largest youth population, something that in principle can boost economic growth. Most Indian children are in school. But millions graduate ill prepared for university, let alone for the workplace, even as their families pay more than ever for education and harbor big ambitions for their future.
That matters because India’s young population — 367 million people between ages 15 and 29 — is the largest Gen Z cohort in the world. And even though their street protests ended this past weekend with the resignation of India’s education minister, the rage against the country’s education system is one of the most serious challenges yet to the 12-year leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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