Police cases, social media takedowns, and online abuse have followed many participants in India’s Cockroach Janta Party-led demonstrations, which ended on July 25, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he forgives the “misled children” who hurled abuse at him during the protests.
Modi described the students involved as needing to be shown “the right path” rather than face prosecution or punishment. Yet even as he extended that public forgiveness, his supporters have continued to dox and abuse protesters on social media, according to Al Jazeera. In several states governed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, hundreds of young men and women, some under 18, have been arrested and charged with serious offences. In one case, an FIR was filed over allegations that “derogatory, malicious and defamatory content” was being circulated on social media targeting constitutional office holders, India’s ANI news agency reported.
The response reflects what analysts describe as a measured crackdown paired with an attempt to win back young voters, as the dust settles on weeks of the biggest protests against Modi’s 12-year rule. The movement, which began in May as a satirical online project, grew into a nationwide challenge to the government after a leaked national medical entrance exam forced more than two million students to resit it. Protests escalated sharply after police used tear gas and batons against demonstrators marching on parliament, injuring nearly 180 people, including 118 officers and 60 protesters, according to Delhi Police.
The crisis ultimately became the biggest political challenge of Modi’s third term, ending only after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25 following the government’s agreement to the movement’s core demands, including compensation for students who died by suicide after the leak and assurances against further paper leaks. Even so, the aftermath has left many participants facing legal and social consequences for their role in a movement that briefly forced one of India’s most dominant governments to visibly retreat.
