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By:

Prithvi Asthana

20 August 2025 at 5:20:30 pm

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she...

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she feels very happy that he has resigned now, and today all the students have won this battle. “I felt quite devastating when I heard about the paper leak. After the leak it was very tough to study again because I am in 12th standard as well. I was de-motivated and did not want to study again but I had no other option. I was continuously studying for seven months. It took a lot of toll on my mind, I was not able to focus on my 12 th standard. ” Talking about the results she said, “ I was not satisfied with the marks I got in re-NEET, and will take a drop. Looking at the sad state of Indian education system, I will go to study abroad.” A commerce student, present at the site, said, “ Now they know what will happen if they continue to repeat mistakes like this.” New Revolution A law student, Pranjal Khatu, said that this resignation will act as a deterrent for the government. She said, “This movement has established fear in government’s mind. This punishment given by the Gen Z will now actually send a message that the ministers should work responsibly, while listening to its public. I want to say thank you to PM Modi, because of him people from all religions have come together to hate someone.” Saying that this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning of the resignations, we are going to demand more resignations, the new revolution has just begun.” Sampada More, a graduate, said that it will definitely establish fear, but the government should have listened to us earlier, they should not have stretched this matter so long. “The next number is of Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman,” she said. A MBBS doctor in Nutraceuticals, joined the rally as well. She said, “He was supposed to resign way before. The government has clearly failed, because as Gen Z we were standing with the Truth, we are standing for what India’s stands as democracy. This is the reason we won the and the government lost. We are going to demand resignation of the Punjab minister responsible for Pharmacy exam paper leak. We will also demand the resignation of corrupted ministers like Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman next.” Fighting for Justice A class seven student rallying with his parents said, “We have finally got justice. I am very proud taking part in the rally and standing for my future. I supports this movement because when I grow up, I do not want any paper leaks happening at that time. I want to see some better minister who actually also focuses on the security of the examination system.” Another student currently in fourth year engineering said, “ This was the tipping point and we actually tried protesting before this as well but we were supressed a lot of times, but this time the government was not able to supress us because it was large. The CJP has done a commendable job in uniting youth of this country, and I am glad that he has taken the accountability and resigned.” Jay, a MBBS student said, “This is a celebration of togetherness, I have never seen such celebration in long time. This is a new sort of Independence.” Demanding more resignations, he said, “This will continue, the stars have aligned with us. This is Inqualab Zindabaad.”

Sun, Sand, and Shortfalls

Was Goa’s festive season was tepid?

As we wind down on 2025, and with Christmas behind us, travel and tour operators in Goa will be assessing how good the season was for earnings and business. When this writer asked for the booking in a small-budget seaside resort, he was told that a room may be available for the last 2 weeks of December but the January-February period was difficult.


So, did tourists give Goa a miss this December? Going by local media, the holiday season has not brought in the kind of footfalls expected. Luxury car operators, for example, reportedly said that their bookings were down, and they had many unbooked cars. For some time now, there have been reports suggesting that tourists are not making a beeline for the sunshine state, preferring the more affordable Thailand.


Also, the chaos of cancelled flight bookings, the resultant high prices for air travel, the fire at a North Goa eatery in which 25 people died, and the now legendary taxi mafia – may well have scared tourists away.


Goa no longer hosts the year-end Sunburn festival that brought in people in their hundreds. The traditional Christian feast of the Jesuit educator and saint Francis Xavier brought in large numbers last year but this year, the numbers were probably back to the normal.


According to the India Data Tourist Compendium put out by the ministry of tourism, an estimated 10 million visited Goa in 2024, of which just over 9 million were domestic tourists. The report which contains fascinating data on India’s tourism arrivals both Indian and foreign among other data, suggests that Goa’s domestic arrivals accounted for 0.34 percent of domestic visitors while foreigners accounted for 2.23 percent of all arrivals.


The report also states that the Fort Aguada Complex, situated strategically on the coast saw 13,58,790 tourists and 13,025 foreigners respectively. The report also states that Goa’s two airports (Mopa and Dabolim) together accounted for 1.95 percent of foreign tourists’ arrivals, underscoring the state’s Goa’s continued popularity as a beach destination.


The situation may likely improve in the first months of the new year as the air traffic situation eases, and tourists feel safer to arrive in Goa. State authorities initiated a drive to identify and close down tourist establishments that did not have the required permissions to set up, and may have not adhered to safety guidelines .


At the end of the day, many of Goa’s tourists are middle class who really cannot afford the five-star properties and want value accommodation for their families. The state needs to do a lot more to provide such accommodation and also ensure that intra-state travel is safe and affordable. Can Goa Bounce Back in 2026?


(The writer is a senior journalist based in Goa. Views personal.)

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