Devendra Kumar Budakoti
The recent protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the alleged paper leak drew attention not only because of the issue being raised but also because of the language used by some protesters. Placards, banners, slogans, and social media reels contained abusive and derogatory expressions that many citizens found offensive. While democratic protest is a legitimate constitutional right, the increasing normalization of profanity in public demonstrations raises an important sociological question: what does such language reveal about contemporary society?
The use of abusive language in public spaces reflects more than momentary anger. It raises concerns about changing social values, family upbringing, moral education, and the influence of digital culture. Public demonstrations are meant to mobilize opinion and attract public support. However, when protest discourse descends into profanity and obscenity, it risks alienating the very society whose sympathy it seeks.
Values of civility and respectful public behaviour are first learned at home and later reinforced in schools, neighbourhoods, and other social institutions. Traditionally, elders corrected children when they used inappropriate language or behaved disrespectfully in public. Today, many adults hesitate to intervene, fearing confrontation. Consequently, the informal mechanisms of social regulation that once discouraged uncivil conduct appear to be weakening.
Children are exposed to abusive language from multiple sources. They hear it in homes, on streets, in markets, public transport, and increasingly through digital media. Parents often assume that young children neither understand nor repeat such expressions, but experience suggests otherwise. School-going children frequently adopt profanities in conversations with their peers. Stand-up comedy, online entertainment, and social media platforms have further normalized abusive vocabulary, making it appear fashionable rather than offensive.
From a sociological perspective, every society possesses a vocabulary of abusive expressions. Yet these words are generally regarded as socially unacceptable and are used only in moments of extreme anger, frustration, or intoxication. Communities across cultures condemn their routine public use because such expressions violate accepted norms of civility.
Many abusive expressions derive their power from deeply rooted social taboos. References to incestuous relationships, insults targeting women, family members, or sexual organs, and slurs based on sexuality reflect long-standing cultural prohibitions. Gender bias is also embedded in many commonly used abuses, where femininity or female anatomy is employed as a symbol of weakness or humiliation. Likewise, words associated with prostitution or trafficking continue to carry strong social stigma. These linguistic patterns reveal how language often mirrors existing social prejudices and power relations.
India has a rich tradition of protest movements. The freedom struggle, peasant mobilisations, labour unions, and student movements all relied on powerful slogans that inspired collective action. Those slogans were ideological, creative, and persuasive. They appealed to public conscience rather than personal abuse. Their purpose was to communicate grievances while maintaining moral legitimacy.
In contrast, some contemporary protests, particularly among sections of Generation Z, increasingly rely on provocative language, profanity, and personal insults to attract attention on social media. Viral content often rewards sensationalism over substance, encouraging increasingly aggressive forms of expression. The result is a gradual erosion of the distinction between passionate dissent and abusive behaviour.
Another worrying trend is the use of offensive language against police and other uniformed personnel deployed to maintain law and order during demonstrations. While criticism of government policies is an essential component of democracy, personal abuse directed at individuals performing official duties weakens respect for public institutions and may escalate tensions unnecessarily.
None of this diminishes the legitimacy of genuine grievances. Issues such as examination paper leaks deserve serious public attention and institutional accountability. Citizens have every right to organise peaceful demonstrations and demand justice. However, the credibility of a movement depends not only on the cause it represents but also on the manner in which that cause is articulated. Civilised language strengthens democratic dialogue, whereas abusive language often distracts from the central issue.
The growing visibility of profanity in public protests should therefore concern parents, educators, community leaders, and policymakers alike. Families must continue to nurture respect, empathy, and responsible communication. Educational institutions should reinforce ethical conduct and civic values. While paper leaks are a cause of concern, we need to also look into the pedagogy in India.
Public protest has historically been a powerful instrument of democratic change. Preserving its moral authority requires not only courage in raising legitimate demands but also dignity in expression. A society’s democratic maturity is reflected not merely in its freedom to speak, but also in the wisdom and restraint with which that freedom is exercised.
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The author is a sociologist and an alumnus of JNU-New Delhi. His research work is quoted in the books of Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen.
