PM Modi advises Gen Z to read books after Instagram backlash

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the launch of former president Ramnath Kovind's autobiography, urged young people to move away from making reels and read autobiographies and biographies. The Federal reports that this advice comes after Modi's Instagram outreach to anti-paper leak protesters at Jantar Mantar backfired, with the youngsters responding with irreverent memes and lampooning his videos. The outlet suggests the prime minister has now strategically retreated in the communication war, framing a binary between Instagram and books that exposes a generational fault line.

Contrary to perceptions, The Federal notes that Gen Z are voracious readers, especially of fiction and horror, which fuels their macabre humour. The young protesters have won a psychological advantage in the cyber battlefield, as seen in NALSAR University students asking not to invite the Chief Justice as chief guest. However, the outlet says these small victories do not change the political situation given the overwhelming power of the state, which can shut down the internet at will. The BJP's cyber cell has fallen silent, indicating a chink in the government's propaganda armour.