Corruption and the Gen Z revolts

Each revolt in our neighbourhood was driven by corruption, with lessons for India

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Inthe recent Sardar Patel Memorial lecture, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval correctly identified governance as a key factor in the toppling of governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

GenZ led revolts have now knocked down corrupt and tone-deaf regimes across India’s neighbourhood and are spreading further afield. The latest is Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, where protesters claim they were inspired by uprisings in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Similar, Gen Z protests in Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, and Morocco have also forced governments to reverse policies. Acommon symbol — a grinning skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat—isbecoming the leitmotif ofthese revolts, inspired by a Japanese manga and anime series called One Piece, in which a crew of pirates takes on corrupt governments.

The immediate trigger for each revolt is slightly different. In Bangladesh, it was a decision to bring back a government job quota system; in Nepal, asocial media ban; in Indonesia, higher salaries for parliament; and in Madagascar, electricity and water shortages. But the broader reasons for the revolts are the same, whatever the initial trigger may be. The young are revolting because ofa lack of opportunities and poor services, but a common cause across all these uprisings is anti-corruption. Social media has made the young aware of how ineffective and corrupt elitist governments are ruining their lives and mortgaging their future.

Transparency International (TI) publishesa Corruption Perception Index every year. The index is based on business perceptions of the extent of corruption in 180 countries, ranked onascale of oto 100 — where a higher score means less corruption.