As we enter Shivaji Park on September 10, we hear the protesters even before we see them. Wave after wave of chants against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, roar across the ground, and copies of the bill are set aflame, curling into ash as men and women raise their voice against what they feel is an “unconstitutional”, “draconian” regulation.

The Bill, which currently awaits the President and Governor’s nod, seeks to grant the state government broad powers to designate organisations as unlawful, under the vague pretext of fighting “urban Naxalism”. Concerned citizens have flagged the potential for misuse of the Bill to suppress dissent against the state and have come out in droves to protest against it. Yet, beneath the fury, one silence stood out: the missing chorus of Gen Z; the very generation often hailed as the engine of change, unafraid to defy authority.