‘Even Mughals called Shivaji a chuha’: Uddhav likens Gen Z to Maratha warrior

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray likened Gen Z to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday likened Gen Z to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, saying that even Mughals had called the Maratha warrior a “chuha” (rat), just as the current generation is being called “cockroaches”.Addressing a gathering during a book launch in Mumbai, Thackeray said those who had been dismissed as “cockroaches” belonged to Generation Z, roughly between the ages of 13 and 28 and drew a parallel how Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was only 17 when he captured Torna Fort, while Sant Dnyaneshwar was also very young when he wrote the Dnyaneshwari. “Those who were insulted as ‘cockroaches’ belong to what we now call Generation Z roughly from the ages of thirteen or fourteen to twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Wasn’t Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj just about that age when he captured Torna Fort at seventeen? Even Shivaji Maharaj was called a ‘Chuha’ by Mughal. Wasn’t Sant Dnyaneshwar also very young when he wrote the Dnyaneshwari? Both faced tremendous opposition in their own time,” Thackeray said. He said Shivaji Maharaj had challenged the Mughal Empire despite his young age, arguing that today’s youth should not be belittled for speaking out. This comes at a time when political leaders across party lines have increasingly adopted Gen Z terminology to sharpen their political messaging during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.From treasury bench members defending the Centre’s reforms to opposition MPs criticising the government’s handling of the NEET controversy, lawmakers turned to internet slang more commonly associated with social media than parliamentary debate.BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj invoked Gen Z slang while backing the proposed legislation, using the phrase “clock it”, a popular internet expression used to acknowledge or recognise something.Speaking in support of the Bill, she said, “Borrowing Gen Z’s language, I would have to say that Modiji clocked it at providing this legislative solution.”

On the other hand, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra invoked Gen Z terminology while criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public outreach, arguing that young people were able to see through political messaging.”If you want to win over the Gen Z, then making videos with different camera angles will not help. The prime minister needs to change the angle of his heart, not the angle of cameras,” Priyanka said. “Injustice has been done with youths under your government, accept the truth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take responsibility,” she added.