Welcome to This Is India, where the youth are not just fighting the establishment - they're also taking on the TV remote. This week, we dive into the Cockroach movement, a protest that had gen Z on the streets of Delhi and mainstream media in a frenzy, trying to spin teargas as a 'clash' and protesters as 'mobs'.
At Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century observatory that doubles as the capital's protest spot, the young crowd chanted against exam leaks, called for freedom and justice, and had some choice words for 'godi' (lapdog) media. Reporters from mainstream outlets got heckled, chased, or beaten - a clear sign that the disconnect between ground reality and TV screens had reached a boiling point. For those watching from home, social media was the only window into the actual chaos, and for some, it felt like a George Orwell novel come to life.
The movement, which demanded the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over an exam paper leak, saw thousands march to parliament on 20 July. The police crackdown was anything but subtle: teargas, pellet guns, and batons. One 17-year-old, Deeksha Mishra, described having blood flowing down her skull. The Cockroach movement estimated around 150 wounded. But TV channels? They called it 'clashes.' NDTV questioned if the crowds were 'mobilised mobs,' Times Now called them anarchists, and Republic TV promised an 'explosive exposé' on the 'anarchy,' even hinting at foreign involvement. ANI, the news agency that feeds footage to channels, apparently didn't share a single post about the police action on 20 July, according to Alt News.
This isn't a one-off; it's the result of 12 years of Modi's prime ministership, where prime-time news has become an extension of the ruling party's agenda. Night after night, channels attack the opposition, activists, minorities, and academics. Ravish Kumar's 'godi media' has become the phrase of the day.
But the Cockroach protesters flipped the script with their signature gen Z humour. One viral video showed a boy detained at a Mumbai demo filming a cop threatening to plant drugs - while sniggering and poking his tongue out. Another showed someone opening a police van latch to free detainees. After Pradhan resigned, even pro-government filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri admitted on X that TV news had lost trust, writing, 'No matter what you do, you can’t manufacture authenticity.'
Ria Chopra, author of Never Logged Out, notes that even boomers are turning to independent creators like Samdish Bhatia on YouTube. She says this is a 'moment of reckoning' for media, with a gravitation towards citizen reporters who are on the ground.
In other news: the use of pellet guns was authorised by Delhi police, according to the Hindu; political instability may not be solved by Pradhan's resignation, per Swarajya; the new education minister, Pralhad Joshi, is under fire for defending the release of gang rapists; the BJP is trying to be cool with Modi reels, but the internet says 'cringe'; and female protesters are being doxxed and threatened by BJP supporters.
As a doomscrolling millennial, I'm happy to report that Instagram's algorithm now serves me protest content. Abhinav Bisht's TikTok-style reel from the protest site has crossed 175 million views - more than double Taylor Swift's current pinned reel. That's the kind of virality that makes the establishment nervous.