Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his son Ishaan engaged in a lighthearted spat on social media, which had Internet users hooked and entertained.
On Monday (July 27), Ishaan reacting to his father's latest comeback in an ongoing debate, joked that he "wasn't being that witty" by his usual standards, while reaffirming a point that he had made earlier -- Tharoor remains the top target of his suggestion to ban boomers on WhatsApp.
Ban boomers on WhatsApp
It all started on Saturday, when Ishaan, replying to Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu's post about keeping young children off social media, suggested boomers should be banned from WhatsApp as well. Vembu had sparked an online debate by suggesting that India should ban social media for young children.
"I agree young kids should not be on social media at all. But India needs to ban Boomers on WhatsApp first before it does anything else," Ishaan wrote with sarcasm on his X handle.
Shashi Tharoor's comeback
Tharoor hit back with his signature wit, arguing that given India's generational patterns, even Ishaan's generation technically counts as boomers.
"Given our reproductive patterns, my son, unlike in the West, every generation of Indians, including yours, qualifies as [baby] Boomers!" Tharoor replied. But his remark failed to pass muster for his son, who felt it was not up to his father's standard wit.
The exchange follows the massive, Gen Z-led protests organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which recently forced the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam paper leaks. The CJP, which started as a mere social media page just a few months ago, unexpectedly snowballed into one of the country's largest youth-led movements for education reform.
Keep showing up Gen Z
Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation proved that governments cannot ignore citizens who protest peacefully and persistently.
Praising Gen Z for channelling their anger over examination irregularities into action, Tharoor said the moment reflected a deeper truth about democracy.
"Keep making the memes, keep being edgy, keep asking uncomfortable questions, keep calling out hypocrisy, but above all, keep showing up. One resignation, I know, cannot ease the anxiety, uncertainty, and hardship that millions of young Indians have endured. It cannot, by itself, restore faith in our examination system. That requires transparent investigations, accountability for those responsible, and reforms that ensure that no student ever has to endure this again. Your voices mattered. Your courage mattered. You have strengthened our democracy."
"Keep clocking it, Gen Z. Keep believing that your voice can change India. Today, you have proved that it can. This is only the beginning of reform. Let's stay at it," he further added.
