“The youth movement consisted of many who were supporters of this government and that is significant”, says Tariq Ali, the icon of protest movements in the 1960s and after.

“This is not a movement orchestrated by China, or Pakistan, or internal opposition parties. This is a movement that has risen from below,” he said in a podcast discussion with Sidharth Bhatia.

Ali, apart from being a campaigner and activist, is also a film maker and author of novels, biographies and even a play. He closely follows global events and particularly of South Asia. His most famous book, Street Fighting Years, An Autobiography of the Sixties, has gone into multiple editions and provides a ring side glimpse of the big events of that decade.

When asked about accusations against the protesters of using abusive language, he said that it goes on in many  ...