{"id":2772,"date":"2026-10-16T10:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T05:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2772"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T05:03:52","slug":"modis-predicament-gen-z-pours-out-on-indias-streets-as-dissent-surges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2772","title":{"rendered":"Modi’s predicament: Gen Z pours out on India’s streets as dissent surges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Despite tens of thousands of security personnel deployed to stop them, youth protesters in India scaled barricades last week, chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with police officers trying to drag them away.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLong live the revolution,\u201d shouted one young man before police bundled him \u200binto a bus.<\/p>\n

Street protests in India this year are likely to be higher than at any time in the past decade, the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) Project has said, as dissent mounts against \u200cPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government and Gen Z activists pour onto the streets.<\/p>\n

Analysts say the youth protests and growing support for the opposition form the worst crisis for Modi since he came to power in 2014, with people under 30 making up nearly one quarter of the country\u2019s 1 billion voters. But his government remains stable, and the next general election is not due until 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nation has suddenly found its voice,\u201d said Yogendra Yadav, an anti-government activist who has played a leading part in the demonstrations. \u201cI would not say this is the beginning of the end of the Modi regime, but this \u200bdefinitely is the beginning of a downward spiral\u201d.<\/p>\n

The government and Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party declined to comment for this story.<\/p>\n

The recent protests in the capital Delhi and elsewhere were focused on demands that Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar<\/a> resign over \u200ba voter roll revision<\/a> that activists and opposition parties say favours the BJP and has helped it win several recent state elections.<\/p>\n

The ruling BJP, the government and the Election Commission deny the accusations. \u2060The BJP says the party\u2019s wins have come from Modi\u2019s popularity and strong economic growth.<\/p>\n

But the demonstrations are also reflecting something larger: growing anger at Modi for failing to deliver jobs to millions of unemployed youth in his 12 years in power despite the surge \u200bin headline economic growth.<\/p>\n

Other issues have also fed into the anti-establishment mood, including leaks of question papers in key examinations<\/a> for jobs and education, the high number of crimes against women and the rise of billionaire businessmen alleged to have close links to Modi.<\/p>\n

Modi has \u200ba strongman image, and his government has previously cracked down on pockets of dissent harshly, but that hasn\u2019t fazed the youngsters on the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear in us is gone,\u201d said Ananya Raturi, a 21-year-old Delhi University student who was part of massive protests in the capital on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Speaking after she clung to the windscreen wipers of a bus that police were using to detain protesters, Raturi said: \u201cWe don\u2019t fear being detained or beaten up by the police. This generation enjoys it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police have denied allegations that they beat up people at the demonstrations, saying protesters were handled according to prescribed procedures.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u200bThe rise of the cockroaches<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The protests have been energised by the emergence of the first nationally resonant youth-led movement<\/a> of the Modi era, the Cockroach Janta Party<\/a>, which grew from online satire into a nationwide campaign this June after India\u2019s chief justice likened the unemployed to \u201ccockroaches\u201d.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s mainstream \u200bmedia is mostly pro-government, critics say, and has covered the protests sparingly.<\/p>\n

But thousands of protesters armed with mobile phones, as well as independent news channels on YouTube, have amplified the unrest and made Internet stars of leaders like CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke<\/a> and firebrand left-wing activist Neha Bora<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opposition \u200cparties that were \u2060subdued under Modi\u2019s grip on power have been re-energised, with Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi and tens of thousands of followers also on the streets.<\/p>\n

The unrest has drawn comparisons with neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal, where youth-led protest movements brought down governments in recent years, although analysts caution that India\u2019s political landscape and Modi\u2019s popularity make such parallels imperfect.<\/p>\n

Many of the youth protesters grew up during Modi\u2019s rise to power, buoyed by promises of jobs, opportunity and cleaner governance.<\/p>\n

A decade later, many say those aspirations remain unfulfilled, and they say the Hindu nationalist government appears more focused on religious issues and divisive politics against minorities, especially Muslims.<\/p>\n

The government has previously said the economy generated 168.3 million new jobs in the six years through 2024. Modi has repeatedly rejected allegations of any bias, saying his government \u200bworks for all Indians.<\/p>\n

30-year-old Gauri Seth, a medical student based in \u200bKolkata, became a voter in 2014, the same year \u2060the Modi government came to power.<\/p>\n

Seth said the Modi government promised \u201ca lot, but has failed to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, they focus on things like religious infrastructure. There are cases of violence against minorities. When anyone speaks against them, it is labelled as treason or sedition.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>It\u2019s mostly about jobs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Modi came to power, he promised the creation of millions of jobs each year. Yet, despite India\u2019s strong economic growth \u200bsince then, unemployment remains at slightly above 5%, according to government data.<\/p>\n

A Reuters poll last year said that the data masks the severity of joblessness<\/a>, especially among the youth. Unemployment among the 367 \u200bmillion people in the country aged \u206015-29 stood at 9.9% in 2025, according to the data.<\/p>\n

Research by Azim Premji University\u2019s State of Working India 2026 report found unemployment among graduates aged 15-25 was nearly 40%, while about one in five graduates aged 25-29 remained jobless.<\/p>\n

In May, unrest erupted across the country when the government invalidated examinations for national medical colleges, a pathway to jobs for the poor and the middle class<\/a>, after test papers were leaked.<\/p>\n

Rubby Singh, a 30-year-old social activist in Delhi, said repeated examination paper leaks had deepened a sense among young Indians that the system was denying them opportunities \u2060even after years \u200bof study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis generation has been facing the brunt of not having proper education, which leads to not being able to get good opportunities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While national \u200belections are not due for almost three years, the country\u2019s biggest state, Uttar Pradesh, goes to the polls early next year, which could provide a test of Modi\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n

Analysts, however, remain cautious about the outcome.<\/p>\n

The BJP may not be as strong as it was a few months ago, said Rahul Verma, a fellow at \u200bthe Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. \u201cBut whether there are going to be electoral implications, it is too early to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite tens of thousands of security personnel deployed to stop them, youth protesters in India scaled barricades last week, chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with police officers trying to drag them away. \u201cLong live the revolution,\u201d shouted one young man before police bundled him \u200binto a bus. Street protests in India this year are likely to be higher than at any time in the past decade, the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) Project has said, as dissent mounts against \u200cPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government and Gen Z…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}