The Gen Z-led protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar showed something different about political mobilisation in India. Young people were not only taking their concerns to the streets; they were using Instagram, short videos, memes and other digital platforms to amplify their message and bring more attention to the movement. The protest movement rapidly built a large following on Instagram, and its online presence helped amplify its campaign.
The shift was visible beyond the protest itself. Indian politicians, too, began adapting how they communicate with younger audiences, moving from traditional speeches and rallies to Instagram Reels, selfie videos, memes, pop-culture references, and even Gen Z slang.
So, why are politicians changing the way they speak to young Indians?
For decades, political communication largely revolved around rallies, speeches, television appearances, newspapers and, more recently, platforms such as WhatsApp and X.
Social media has changed that equation.
Instagram and short-form video platforms let politicians speak directly to millions without waiting for television coverage or a rally to bring their message to an audience. They can also control the format, tone and timing of their communication.
That has created a different kind of political language. Shorter, more visual, more informal and often designed to be shared.
The 2026 political campaigns also showed how parties increasingly used edited videos, memes, music and humour to present leaders and political messages in formats familiar to younger audiences.
But this shift is not simply about politicians learning new slang. It is about politicians adapting political communication to the platforms and cultural language through which younger people consume information.
The Gen Z-led protests at Jantar Mantar became an important example of how young people could use social media to turn an issue into a wider political conversation.
The demonstrations were triggered by anger over leaked medical entrance examination papers, alongside broader concerns about education, employment and accountability. The protests led by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) eventually contributed to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
But the significance of the movement was not limited to what happened on the streets.
The protest travelled through Instagram and other social platforms, where young people created and shared reels, memes and other content around it. The movement's Instagram following grew rapidly, demonstrating the ability of a youth-led movement to generate political attention online.
The protest therefore offered politicians an important lesson: young people are not merely an audience to communicate with. They can also create political narratives of their own.
The change became particularly visible during the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj used the phrase “clocked it” while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to the examination issue. While speaking in support of the Bill, Swaraj said that, “in Gen Z language”, Modi had “clocked it” by providing a legislative solution to the problem of examination irregularities. The phrase is commonly used online to mean recognising or getting something right.
The context was important: this was not a casual social-media post but a formal parliamentary debate on legislation aimed at tackling examination malpractice. The use of internet slang therefore stood out precisely because of the traditionally formal setting of Parliament.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde used Gen Z expressions while attacking the Opposition over its response to the student protests.
He described the Opposition as “MIA”, or “missing in action”, for not joining the CJP protests earlier. He then used “FOMO”, or “fear of missing out”, to describe what he said was the Opposition's later participation, and called its belief that protesting students would support its political movement “delulu”, a slang term derived from “delusional”.
The examples show that the change is not limited to where politicians communicate. The language itself is changing.
But there is an important distinction: politicians using Gen Z terminology does not necessarily mean they have adopted Gen Z culture. It shows that political communication is increasingly borrowing from the vocabulary and formats of online culture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi provides perhaps the clearest example of this shift.
His recent Instagram content has included more casual, selfie-style videos, informal greetings and pop-culture references. He begins his videos by addressing viewers as “friends”.
This is a noticeable departure from the traditional image of political communication, where leaders generally appeared at podiums, rallies or carefully produced television addresses.
Now, the politician can simply turn the camera towards themselves.
The appeal is obvious: a selfie video feels more personal than a formal speech, a reel is easier to consume than a long address, and a meme can travel much faster than a conventional political statement.
But there is another question underneath this shift.
Does looking more relatable actually make a politician more relatable?
The shift can also be seen in the way other political leaders are using social media to communicate with younger audiences.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has increasingly used Instagram for direct and informal interactions. In August, he hosted an ‘Ask Me Anything session’ on Instagram, inviting students and young users to ask questions. The interaction ranged from protests and politics to memes, pets and more personal questions, making it markedly different from a conventional political address.
He also used a lighter, youth-oriented format on Friendship Day. Gandhi shared a photograph of himself making the ‘Korean finger-heart gesture,’ accompanied by a message describing it as something he had learned.
The gesture, popularised globally through Korean pop culture and social media, drew attention precisely because of its association with younger internet users.
India has a huge young population, making young people an important political audience.
But numbers alone don't explain the change.
Gen Z has grown up in a media environment where information is consumed through short videos, creators, memes, comments and highly visual content. Political information is increasingly encountered alongside entertainment, lifestyle and pop culture.
That means politicians competing for young people's attention are competing not only with other politicians.
They are competing with everything else on the internet.
This is where the story becomes more complicated.
Using words such as “delulu”, “FOMO” or “clocked it” may make political communication look more familiar to young audiences. Selfie videos may make leaders appear less formal. Memes and reels may make political content easier to share.
But format and substance are two different things.
Young people have shown that they can use social media to demand political attention themselves. Now politicians are learning to use the same space to reach them.
The question is no longer whether politics will enter Gen Z's digital world. It already has.
The bigger question is whether politicians can move beyond speaking the language of Gen Z to actually addressing the issues that Gen Z is speaking about.