A ‘very Gen Z’ protest brings dissent to our social media feedsInternet in India this week, for better or worse.
Only one topic dominated social media discourse this week - the ongoing students’ protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar observatory. What began as a demonstration mounted by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against irregularities in the NEET examination has now grown into a larger public expression of dissatisfaction, with protests taking place in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Patna, Chandigarh and even Berlin. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging irregularities in the fiercely competitive medical entrance exam.
Zomato, Swiggy bring long-distance support to DelhiStudents have been gathering at Jantar Mantar over the last few days, with the protest intensifying on Monday and leading to police action — including the use of tear gas and lathi charge at protesters. But where the police used force, thousands of Indians across the country found an unlikely way to stand with the protesters. Those who could not attend in person sent food through platforms like Swiggy and Zomato as a show of solidarity. Visuals shared online showed dozens of food packets at the protest site — so much so that the Cockroach Janta Party had put out social media appeals, more than once, to not send more food.
Auto driver refused fare from CJP protestersSpeaking of public support — one autorickshaw driver went viral for an unexpected act of generosity. As the government shut down several metro stations in the national capital to quell the burgeoning protests, Rakesh Kumar Yadav offered free rides to protesters in his autorickshaw. The auto driver voluntarily picked up stranded protesters and refused to accept any payment, calling his free ride a small contribution to the country’s youth. Instagram user Aishwarya highlighted his contribution in a post, writing: “With Delhi Metro stations closed, police barricades everywhere, no buses, no network, and no online cabs, thousands of people were left to walk nearly an hour to reach Jantar Mantar.”
A very Gen Z protestThis is not the first protest that India has witnessed, but it might just be the most widely covered on social media. Our Instagram feeds have been saturated with content from Jantar Mantar and beyond, thanks in large part to the protesting demographic. The internet-first Gen Z generation is leading the students’ protest with unparalleled humour. Going beyond the standard memes so favoured by millennials, the protesters have found novel ways to find humour in a tough situation. One only has to look at the videos populating Instagram — from ‘Subway surfers’ running away from cops to ‘Get Ready With Me’ videos to protesters enjoying a rain dance party with police-deployer water cannons. It’s humour used not to downplay the issue, but as a mechanism to keep the conversation topical and impossible for authorities to ignore. Most-read this weekThe intensity of the student protests reflects a deeper, collective anxiety across India: education is seen as the ultimate ticket out of poverty, yet the ladder feels increasingly broken. Nothing illustrated this heartbreak better than our top story of the week. An Instagram video by creator Sahil captured a conversation with a young security guard working at a college campus. As it turns out, he wasn’t just guarding the gates — he was once a student at the same college. “Ek time aisa bhi tha ki BTech ki admission ke liye aaya tha. Dheere dheere financially condition bahut kharab hone lag gayi thi. 3D animation ke liye try kar raha tha main apna BSc in 3D Animation and Game Designer. Magar nahi ho paaya. Aage sab kuch kar nahi sakte hain,” the guard told Instagram user Sahil, explaining that financial issues forced him to drop out.
That’s all from us this week. See you next time with more of what the internet is talking about. Happy scrolling! Thanks for reading Trending @ HT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.
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