First, thanks to the reader who pointed out my omission of the obvious song, (not this obvious song)1 which should have been included in my previous post about the street protests and growth of a Gen Z propelled political party in India, the CJP.
So thanks Daniel, and here are two:
But if you want to dive even deeper into the topical relevance of cockroaches, I recommend archy and mehitabel:
It’s a good distraction from all the bad news flowing from voters’ decision to elect a tyrannical narcissist with zero interest in helping anyone other than himself as president.
Which I’ll go back to writing about soon.
But for the weekend, I prefer to celebrate with the cockroaches. India’s education minister has resigned, a major demand of the CJP. My earlier column
linked to some New York Times stories about the movement that this update tells us has blown up on Instagram, where it has nearly 26 million followers—three times the number of the country’s ruling party, and its’ now much more embattled prime minister.
Here’s a paragraph that weeks or months from now may count as foreshadowing:
As the demonstrators vent their anger at India’s economic failings and a lack of accountability, the signs and slogans in New Delhi at the main site of the protests — which spread this week to several other Indian cities — are aiming directly at Mr. Modi. Usually criticized only in whispers, the strongman leader has suddenly found himself the subject of jokes and taunts, with protesters defacing him on billboards and mocking him in verse, sharing the images online to an audience of millions.
As I wrote earlier, as someone who co-founded a political movement for the right of corporations to run for Congress, which some called satire, this is how tyrants can fall.
The Guardian has another essential update on what’s happening in the streets of India, including this from CJP’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke:
“We have done it,” he said, to cries of “victory to India” and “long live the revolution”. But Dipke also emphasised Pradhan’s resignation was “just the beginning” in the movement’s push for systemic education reform and its fight for democratic rights.
He also cautioned against people making a hero of him. “Do not make this mistake,” said Dipke. “The country has been ruined by making one person a hero.”
The Times quotes Faria Asif, a lawyer who was in the crowd saying, “I am extremely joyous. This is a huge victory, not just for the students, for the constitution and for the entire nation. Being part of this movement has been extremely empowering for all of us. I think it’s the beginning of change.”
This is how politics can work. First, you take an urgent problem that unites people from all walks of life. Start with young people—they feel things acutely.
Before my time, it was the war in Vietnam. And civil rights before that. Now, here in the U.S. it looks like it’s affordability, and the failure of politics to address what real people want and need.
And in India, it’s the devastating toll of corruption, miserable job prospects, and a government that cracks down on dissent.
The Guardian reports the movement is being called a “gen Z political awakening” in India. That article ends with this:
Not all those who took part in the protests were gen Z. Annie Raja, 62, beamed as she looked out at the celebrating protesters. “I feel enthusiastic and happy,” she said.
“The young people came out on the streets and they saved our democracy. Previously the government thought they had all the power, and the people were living only in fear. Now the Modi government is scared of us.”
Let’s hear it for the cockroaches—we need them here!
Know someone else who might enjoy these posts? Please share—and thanks!
Which is a great song, but not at all relevant to this column.
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