RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to interact with Gen Alpha, Gen Z students in Mumbai on August 6

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. File Pic

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will interact with Gen Alpha and Gen Z students in Mumbai on August 6, days after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister following the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led youth protests over the NEET exam paper leak.

Bhagwat will address the inaugural ceremony of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) Annual Championship Conference at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), marking the organisation's 15th anniversary, reported PTI.

The event will bring together more than 2,000 students aged between 15 and 19 from over 100 cities across the country. Gen Alpha includes individuals born between 2010 and 2024, making them up to 16 years old in 2026. Gen Z comprises those born between 1997 and 2012, placing them in the 14-29 age group.

Bhagwat to address youth on global unity

Bhagwat's address will inaugurate IIMUN's flagship Annual Championship Conference, where students will debate and deliberate on local, national and international issues.

The inaugural ceremony will revolve around the theme, "The Role of Youth in Uniting the World, the Indian Way."

Event comes after Pradhan's resignation

Bhagwat's interaction with students comes days after Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation as Union Education Minister on July 25, following the CJP-led protests at Jantar Mantar over the NEET exam paper leak.

The protests began on June 20 and culminated in a widely attended "Sansad Chalo" march on July 20.

Mohan Bhagwat says LGBTQ community is part of society, has right to live with dignity

Earlier, Bhagwat said the LGBTQ community is an integral part of Indian society and should not be ostracised or treated with prejudice.

Speaking at an event in Hyderabad, Bhagwat said diverse sexual orientations and gender identities have always existed in society, with some being innate and others developing over time.

"LGBTQ and all these communities exist. Such tendencies are present in society. Some are innate, determined by nature itself; neither we nor they can do anything about it, that is simply how they were born," Bhagwat said.

"However, some are acquired later due to mindset or arise from physical inclinations. Since this phenomenon exists worldwide, we cannot claim it was absent here. We are human too, and it existed among us as well. We made quiet arrangements for them," he added.

Bhagwat said Indian traditions have long acknowledged the existence of LGBTQ individuals, recognising that while some conditions may be curable, others are not.

"They are human beings too and have a right to live. They are not ostracised from society; there is a place for them within the vast tapestry of social life. We are taught not to view them with a sense of inferiority," he said.

He further noted that members of the LGBTQ community have their own deities, shrines and even Mahamandaleshwars who participate in the Kumbh Mela.

"Rather than making unnecessary noise or fanfare about these matters, we handled them quietly to ensure society maintained a sympathetic attitude toward them. We made proper, discreet arrangements, recognising them as integral parts of our own society," Bhagwat added.

(With PTI inputs)