THE Gen-Z movement, which reverberated across the country and forced the Modi government to bow down, drew the attention not only of the entire nation but also of the world. The agitation at Jantar Mantar, which continued for one and a half months, reached every corner of the country. In cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and across the country, thousands of students and youth took to the streets in anger against the Modi-Shah regime.

During the Parliament March in Delhi on July 20, 2026, the police used savage repression to suppress the agitation. However, defying this terror, thousands of students and youth remained in Delhi for the next five days, determined to secure their victory over the BJP-RSS regime. Faced with this remarkable resistance, the government was ultimately forced to yield. On July 25, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was forced to resign. 

Against this backdrop, several programmes for Gen-Z were organised in Maharashtra by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). These included a state-level brainstorming meeting and a student-youth gathering in Pune, a massive students’ meeting in Talasari, Dist Palghar, and a Jashn-e-Inquilab programme in Mumbai. These diverse programmes aimed to engage and mobilise the student and youth community in Maharashtra around the questions and aspirations emerging from the Gen-Z movement.

PUNE: STATE-LEVEL BRAINSTORMING SESSION

A state-level brainstorming session was held at the Mahatma Gandhi Bhavan, Pune, on August 12-13, 2026, with the participation of SFI and DYFI state committee members and some former SFI-DYFI leaders. Around 100 activists from different districts across the state attended.

The meeting was inaugurated by SFI All India Joint Secretary and former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) Aishe Ghosh. On the first day, Aishe Ghosh and Ajit Abhyankar made the keynote presentations, followed by an extensive discussion by activists. The discussion focused on the Jantar Mantar student movement, the situation that emerged in its aftermath, and the situation and tasks in Maharashtra. Former SFI-DYFI leaders Dr Ashok Dhawale, Mariam Dhawale, Ajit Abhyankar, Dr Ajit Nawale, Umesh Deshmukh, Preethy Shekhar, Ajay Burande, Dr Maharudra Dake placed their views briefly.

On the second day, separate state committee meetings of SFI and DYFI were held. Against this backdrop, it was decided to organise a Student-Youth Dialogue Yatra across Maharashtra, and public meetings in several districts of the state. It was decided to launch a campaign “Save Schools, Improve Schools” on issues concerning school education. Activists will visit government and aided schools, followed by a call for indefinite sit-in protests in several districts. It was decided to launch a movement against the recent anti-student Government Resolution of the state government on tribal students’ hostels, as well as on other demands.

The state-level brainstorming meeting proved to be important. It provided a clear direction for the work to be undertaken in the coming period. DYFI state president Mohan Jadhav, state secretary Datta Chavan, SFI state president Rohidas Jadhav, and state secretary Somnath Nirmal conducted both the state committee meetings.

PUNE: STUDENT-YOUTH RESOLVE MEETING

On August 13, a Youth-Student Resolve Public Meeting was organised in Pune by SFI and DYFI under the slogan “Change the Education System, Create Employment Opportunities.”

Aishe Ghosh addressed the gathering. Speaking on the occasion, she said, “The education system is being handed over to the capitalists. At a time when the problems of students and youth are becoming increasingly serious, the movement at Jantar Mantar brought the issues of education and employment to centre stage. Students, going beyond the barriers of caste and religion, intensified their struggle for fundamental changes in the education system. They fought the repression unleashed by the BJP government, forcing the government to bow before their resistance. It is now our responsibility to build a broad-based mass movement to save and expand the access to education and employment, and ensure basic facilities.”

The meeting was presided over by DYFI state president Mohan Jadhav, and addressed by state vice-president Nandkumar Hadal, SFI state secretary Somnath Nirmal, state president Rohidas Jadhav, and state vice-president Manisha Ballal. The quarterly publication ‘Ghavalan’ was released. SFI state vice-president Navnath More made the introduction, while state joint secretary Nisha Sable proposed the vote of thanks.

TALASARI: LARGE STUDENT FELICITATION MEETING

On August 11, the SFI organised a Student Felicitation Meeting at Talasari in Palghar district. It was addressed by Aishe Ghosh; AIDWA National Vice-President and former SFI state general secretary Mariam Dhawale; and state general secretary of AIDWA Prachi Hatiwlekar. Over 2,000 students from senior and junior colleges in the area participated in the meeting.

The meeting was organised against the backdrop of the unprecedented Gen-Z student movement at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and as part of the “Azadi Week Celebrations” call by the SFI Central Committee. Addressing the gathering on the theme “We Fought, We Won! What Next?”, Aishe Ghosh provided important guidance to the students. The meeting was presided over by SFI district president Bhaskar Mhase, while district secretary Virendra Dumada made the introduction.

MUMBAI: ‘JASHN-E-INQUILAB’

On August 15, on the occasion of Independence Day, the SFI Mumbai Committee organised a programme titled ‘Jashn-e-Inquilab’ at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in the heart of South Mumbai. More than 200 students and youth of the SFI, DYFI, and other progressive organisations attended the programme. CITU, AIKS and AIDWA leaders were also present.

The event paid tribute to the struggle of students who had fought courageously in movements against injustice in the NTA and NEET. The programme was also part of the ‘Azadi Week Celebrations’ call by the SFI Central Executive Committee.

The programme was organised around the theme “Those who are called anti-national are the very ones fighting for the country.” It opposed attempts to brand as “anti-national” and “Dimagi Naxals” the students who raise their voices for their rights, dignity and future. Around 30 students who showed courage during the July movement in Mumbai were felicitated.

Senior Advocate of the Bombay High Court Adv. Gayatri Singh, progressive filmmaker and director Anand Patwardhan, and AIKS National President and former SFI All India Vice-President Dr Ashok Dhawale addressed the gathering. Riya Ahir, who had famously stopped a police vehicle during the July protests in Mumbai, also shared her experiences.

A cultural programme was held as part of the event. Aman Pandey, popularly known as ‘Galiban Kabir’, Vijay Sahir and Kusum presented revolutionary poetry. Their poems dealt with themes of resistance, freedom, justice and the struggles of ordinary people. Adarsh and his colleagues also presented a powerful play.

The central message of the programme was that the freedom won through the sacrifices of India’s freedom fighters cannot be confined merely to celebrating it through ceremonies every year. This freedom must be defended and expanded through struggles against injustice.