TL;DRModi broke Instagram’s Reel view record with over 300 million views as student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party swept India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted two selfie videos on Instagram as student protests swept the country, with the first Reel drawing more than 300 million views in 24 hours and breaking the platform’s record for a single clip. The 75-year-old leader recorded the videos late Thursday and Friday, choosing the short-video format most popular with the young demographic fueling demonstrations against his government. The previous single-Reel record belonged to YouTuber IShowSpeed, who filmed himself meeting the K-pop group BTS after the FIFA World Cup final earlier this month.
The protests trace back to India’s NEET medical entrance exam, administered on May 3 and cancelled on May 12 after a paper leak was discovered. Student organizer Abhijeet Dipke founded the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, on May 16, naming the movement after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared unemployed youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a hearing. The CJP has since drawn more than 20 million followers across platforms, though exact figures vary by source, and organized nationwide marches demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
