The world’s largest democracy, India, seems to be at a political crossroads at the moment. The capital, New Delhi, has become a stage for the Gen Z revolution. Similar movements that took place in neighboring countries in the region have now reached the world’s most populated country. A sitting judge called the country’s youth "cockroaches." He meant it as an insult, but the youth took the word and turned it into a mass anti-government movement. The Cockroach Janta Party is now camping at Jantar Mantar, the center of the capital, and is giving the Modi government the biggest headache it has had in years, maybe even bigger than the farmers’ protest.
This movement did not come out of nowhere. It started after a national medical entrance exam called NEET was leaked. Many of the entrants had to sit for the exam again. For a country where getting into a good college and having a good degree is treated like a matter of life and death, this was not just a small scandal. It was the last straw for the new generation, which had been failed again and again.
On July 20, thousands of young people tried to march to the parliament, but the police met them with tear gas and batons. Reports say around 180 people were injured, with the Human Rights Watch calling on Modi's BJP administration to investigate the use of force. Mobile internet was shut down in parts of the city. Students. Women. Old men. All of them got hit that day.
