25% of Indian youth NEET
One in four young Indians is not in college, employment, or training — underlining the structural unemployment crisis driving the protests.
Snapshot · Economist Podcasts
Cockroaches 1, Modi 0: India’s remarkable protests
Explore episode
Jul 27, 2026
Where this was said
On the Ground: Hunger Strikers and Broken Promises
At 6:55 · chapter starts 6:28
On the protest ground, Kira Huju finds Yash Mishra — 28 years old, nine days into a hunger strike — who distils the movement's grievance in a single line: 'Education is like water.' [1] — Yash Mishra "Education is like water. It is the most important commodity. And the government of India, Mr. Modi, is failing, and he has no way, no polic…" 06:32 His energy, he says, comes from 'fear that we have induced in the government.' The structural data behind this fury is damning. India's population skews dramatically young — 65% are under 35 — yet a quarter of that cohort are not in college, employment, or training. [2] — Kira Huju "India education spend: 4% vs 6% GDP target: India targets 6% of GDP on public education but currently spends only around 4%, falling short …" 07:20 The country has seen around 150 exam leak cases in the last decade, and despite stating a target of spending 6% of GDP on education, the actual figure hovers around 4%. The protests, Huju makes clear, are not about one minister's resignation — they are about a generation that has been failed by a system that promised them a future and delivered corruption.
65% of India under 35
65% of India's population is under 35, meaning the country's politics are increasingly shaped by a young, restless demographic.
~150 exam leaks in last decade
India has had approximately 150 known exam leak cases in the last decade alone, pointing to endemic corruption in its education system.
India education spend: 4% vs 6% GDP target
India targets 6% of GDP on public education but currently spends only around 4%, falling short of its own stated ambitions.
Gen Z Is Not Just Unafraid — They're Laughing at Modi
Under a decade of BJP rule, publicly criticising Modi became something Indians feared. Now India's Gen Z has leapfrogged criticism entirely — they're cracking jokes about him. Kira Huju says that shift is potentially more politically fatal for Modi than any opposition party.
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