On the Day the Govt Promised Wangchuk No Cases Against Protesters, Police Went After a Volunteer’s Family
Hours after the Centre assured activist Sonam Wangchuk that no cases would be filed against those who had protested at Jantar Mantar and marched to Parliament on 20 July, one volunteer’s family was learning that the assurance did not extend to them, Newsreel Asia has been told.
Delhi’s ‘Jantar Mantar Republic:’ the India Its Youngsters Want, and Are Building
A huge, leaderless crowd of protesters has been gathering at Connaught Place in Delhi alongside the organised Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at a designated site at Jantar Mantar. By July 23, it looked at least four times the size of the CJP protest. Even without any leadership, except a few self-appointed volunteers doing crowd management, they seem to be living out the India they want, one they seem to be building themselves, an India where your identity and agency are never questioned but accepted with mutual trust and protection for one another.
As a Woman Journalist, I Felt Safe Amid Thousands of Stranger Men at CJP Protest
Thousands of men have been filling the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest ground at Jantar Mantar in Delhi for nearly a month. In the initial days, each time I walked into that crowd I expected to feel unsafe, as I always have as a woman in this city. What I soon found instead, as I covered the ongoing youth movement, is a kind of safety I had almost stopped believing was possible in a public space in the capital city, despite the area being dense with strangers.
5 Forms of Unlawful, Punitive Force Delhi Police May Have Used Against CJP Protesters
Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel used batons and tear gas against thousands of protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) “Chalo Sansad” march on July 20, leaving scores injured and dozens detained. Eyewitness accounts from journalists covering the protest, including those from Newsreel Asia, and videos circulating on social media point to at least five serious forms of possibly unlawful and punitive force.
July 20 CJP Protest Defies Government Narrative of Who Dissenters Are
Tens of thousands of young people converged around Delhi’s Connaught Place area on July 20, responding to a call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for its “Chalo Sansad” march towards Parliament. Most of them belonged to no party, community or movement the government could name, and their active participation appeared to shatter its claim that dissent or grievances in India are confined to a few groups that can be conveniently bracketed into Muslims, Christians, communists, left-leaning civil society, farmers and independent journalists.
Cockroach Janta Party’s Protest Calls for Crowd Management, Not a Law and Order Confrontation
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-driven satirical movement that emerged online last month, is set to hold its first on-ground protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 6, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination failures that the group says affected more than 10 million (one crore) students. It’s difficult to predict how the government will respond. However, treating the protest as primarily a law and order issue rather than a crowd management exercise could carry significant political and administrative costs.
Nepal’s Gen Z Didn’t Topple the Government, But They Deserve Credit for It
Closer attention to what happened in Nepal suggests that the government did not fall solely because of the Gen Z protests, but because of the chain of events they triggered. It is crucial for Gen Z movements elsewhere to understand the role Nepal’s youth played in the change, so that their hopes are not misplaced and their decisions not misguided. The story also carries lessons for governments around the world.
Four Killed in Ladakh Protests After Years of Unanswered Calls for Rights
Four young people were killed and dozens injured in Leh after police opened fire on youth-led protests during a hunger strike on Dept. 24, demanding statehood and constitutional protection for Ladakh, which sits at India’s Himalayan frontier, bordering China. The violence shows a serious failure of governance, where the central government’s refusal to meaningfully engage with six years of peaceful demands has now led to the breakdown of non-violent civic mobilisation.
Nepal’s Rulers Paid for Seeking a Monopoly Over ‘Illegitimate’ Violence
A government does not survive by force alone, but by the public’s acceptance that it has the right to use force in the first place. Nepal’s government seemed unaware of this basic principle. The little trust that remained, already hanging by a thread, gave way completely on September 8, when police used brutal violence against young protesters. By the time ambulances began arriving with school and college students bleeding from bullet wounds to their heads and chests, the state’s claim to legitimacy was in free fall.
Why Nepal’s Gen Z Has Turned Against the Old Political Guard
Nineteen young protesters were killed in Nepal on Sept. 8 after security forces opened fire during demonstrations sparked by the government’s shutdown of major social media platforms. Their deaths have marked a turning point in Nepal’s politics, as a generation that has already seen good governance in action from younger public servants is now rising to remove a ruling class it no longer trusts.
Punjab Floods Kill 48, Ravage Villages and Farmland
Heavy rains and swelling rivers have unleashed devastating floods across Punjab, leaving 48 people dead and displacing hundreds of thousands. More than 2,050 villages in 23 districts have been inundated, affecting nearly 390,000 (3.9 lakh) residents. Restoring farmland productivity is now the state government’s most urgent task, while the Centre must move quickly to release relief funds.
July 9 Bharat Bandh: Is Discontent Reaching Boiling Point?
A joint forum of 10 central trade unions has called for a nationwide general strike, or “Bharat Bandh,” on July 9 in protest against what it calls the central government’s “anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national pro-corporate policies.” With over 250 million (25 crore) workers expected to join from several critical sectors, the strike could be one of the most significant confrontations between the government and the country’s organised and unorganised workforce in recent years.
India’s Small and Medium Hospitals Need Their Own UPI Moment
As the government marks 10 years of the Digital India programme and celebrates progress in connectivity and service delivery, a critical gap remains in healthcare. Small and medium hospitals (SMHs) across the country still rely on paper records and disjointed processes, lacking even the most basic digital systems. If India wants its digital push to reach the millions who depend on these hospitals, it must create a public health infrastructure that is simple, affordable and practical, just as UPI was for financial services.
Punjab Government Forcibly Evicts Farmers after Year-Long Protest
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on March 19 forcibly removed farmers who had been demonstrating at the Shambhu border between Haryana and Punjab for more than a year, detained farmer leaders, and cleared the temporary shelters and trolleys that had housed farmers. On March 20, several demonstrations to condemn the government’s move, described as backstabbing, were held, leading to more detentions and arrests.
Punjab Farmer’s Health Declines as Hunger Strike Reaches 50th Day
The health of Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old farmer from Punjab, is deteriorating as he enters the 50th day of his indefinite hunger strike on Jan. 14. He has refused medical intervention while continuing his fast to demand a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.
Is Organising a Protest Alone Enough for UAPA Charges?
The Delhi High Court has asked the state’s police, which reports to the central government, whether an individual who merely organises a protest site could face charges under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Judges pressed for clear evidence showing that the act of setting up demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act warranted a law typically invoked for serious offenses.
Punjab Farmer’s Fast Enters Crucial 40-Day Mark
A 70-year-old farmer leader in Punjab reached his 40th consecutive day of indefinite fasting to demand a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops on Jan. 4. A fast beyond 40 days in older adults may lead to the depletion of fat and muscle, increasing the risk of organ failure and sudden cardiac complications.