You inspire us, was the message from across the border. In response to such admiration and support, young Indians responded with gratitude. Hopefully in each of these countries the young fighting for their future will remain invested in the development of their own country, strengthening the roots of democracy at home and the prospects for development, rather than emigrate to greener pastures.

A subcontinent divided by the antediluvian bigotry of a dominant and powerful few suddenly found that such domestic prejudices are not shared by victims of similar forms of authoritarianism and corruption in their own country. More than the politics of the Indian protest movement, it is the music and its irreverent humour that found an echo across South Asia.

“You guys are too cool, yaar!” said a Pakistani student who viewed on Instagram the opening of a bolt on a moving police van in Mumbai that enabled holed-up kids to jump out and dance on the road. At Jantar Mantar, a young man thanked these supporters from across the border saying, “We want peace, not war. We want to study. We want jobs.”

In a few words, these teenagers and 20-somethings summed up the sentiment of millions across South Asia who wish to live in peace and live a dignified life, not exporting terror or hatred. They may well not reflect the attitude of the ruling regime in their respective country, but they surely reflect the shared attitude of a new generation seeking a good life and a fulfilling and fruitful future.

In the past, cross-border friendship in South Asia was promoted by concerned, elderly citizens, liberals and communists and a few among the elite who lived similar lives and would meet up on occasion in London or Dubai. Today, it is through Instagram that a new generation connects, with no prejudice and lots of pizzazz.

The initial narrative of the ruling regime’s dirty tricks department that the CJP was being supported by Pakistan’s ISI, America’s CIA and George Soros fell flat when Gen Z protestors laughed off such accusations rather than get angry about them. The deployment of humour, laughter, music and poetry as political weapons will remain the unique contribution of this campaign.

The CJP protest campaign has the potential to give meaning to a recent call given by the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for increased people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan. We have seen the positive side of such contact on social media with youth across borders expressing solidarity with each other and recognising that all of them have shared concerns — about their own future, their education, their employment opportunities.

Having achieved the limited objective of getting the Union Minister for Education sacked, with some other demands waiting to be addressed, the CJP campaign across India can easily evolve into a subcontinent-wide peace movement seeking better relations between neighbours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can make good use of this opportunity to strengthen civil-society engagement across borders. The CJP has demonstrated that a humane approach to social issues produces better results than hate, prejudice and violence.

An improvement in bilateral relations within South Asia due to social-media interaction between the subcontinent’s youth would set an example for many embattled regions of the world. Wars between nations are declared by men and women in their sixties and seventies, fought by soldiers in their twenties, but hurt the future of tomorrow’s adults. The youth, therefore, have a stake in the pursuit and assurance of peace.

The anonymity of social media presence has spawned trolling and abuse, making the medium a double-edged sword. A person can hurt you on social media but one can also express solidarity. In India we have seen far too much abuse and venom on social media, especially against Muslims at home and in our neighbourhood. The CJP protest has shown that idealistic youth can also use social media to build bridges, make common cause and express solidarity with neighbours with shared aspirations.

As a great democracy that has fought to defend its own democratic institutions at home, India can inspire its neighbourhood, where young people are also seeking to defend or establish democratic freedoms. The backsliding in India’s democratic credentials over the past decade has hurt our credibility as a democracy. We must regain our standing as a torchlight of democracy in Asia.

The youth movement unleashed by the CJP this year has restored hope in the security of our hard-won personal freedoms. All is not yet lost. An authoritarian and majoritarian political leadership has been challenged and its hollowness within exposed. The Delhi Police and their political bosses have made an important contribution to the awakening of democratic consciousness in middle-class families that had been lulled by bigotry.

Across India, we witnessed an unbottling not just of individual grievances but of a collective concern with majoritarian assertion and the trampling of individual freedoms. The message may not have fully sunk in. After all, even after the events of the past week, there will be a backlash from aggressive and abusive members of the saffron brigade. But the fear is gone in a freedom-loving youth. They will, hopefully, continue to fight to preserve our democracy and our Constitution.

The writer is chairman of the board of trustees, Forum for National Security Studies (FNSS) & Centre for Aerospace & Strategic Studies (CAPS)