India’s youth protest against Modi’s disrespectful jokes and memes | Social Media Stories

Young protesters in India are defying their government. And the jokes are landing.

As thousands of protesters take to the streets of India’s capital, they are waging a similar campaign online, flooding the internet with memes, satirical videos and self-deprecating jokes.

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In doing so, he is also beating Narendra Modi – a powerful but image-conscious prime minister – at his own game.

Modi built his brand of politics through social media. Now protesters are using the same platform to vilify his leadership, mock pro-government media coverage, turn clashes with the police into viral content and control online news.

The campaign has led to protests demanding accountability and education reform beyond the streets, expanding its reach and pressuring the government to appear more accommodating to a rapidly growing youth group.

Strava streaks and Subway Surfers

The digital campaign of the group “Cockroach” was driven mainly by humor.

Conflicts with the police are very common. Videos showed protesters laughing to save their Strava streaks – a reference to the tracking app used by runners – as they ran towards police charges.

Some have edited their photos of dodging police barricades to mimic the endless runners of the Subway Surfers game.

Some women have borrowed from influencer culture, posting “get ready with me” videos before the march and posters featuring hats, sunglasses and other DIY accessories. Some protesters have made fake videos mocking the government’s representatives on television and their channels have called the protesters “anti-national” and “conspirators to accept foreign money”.

Several protesters spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

One 25-year-old activist said that memes are more than just entertainment; they are the way to win. He sees them as generational culture.

Unlike the older generations, who learned to endure hardships, his generation has little patience to “just endure,” he said.

“If our phone is dead, we can’t stand it, so we won’t tolerate this,” he said, referring to police brutality on Monday in the capital.

‘We find speech boring’

Street protests erupted last month, fueled by anger over a number of exam problems, including the illegal sharing of entrance exams for the country’s medical programs.

The youths say that these insults have affected their future and have taken away their confidence in education. He criticizes Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who he resigned Wednesday.

But the protests have grown into a serious outrage over the government’s response, spreading to other cities.

Much of this growth has been driven by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical group that launched the party two months ago. Through memes, humor and satire, it has given young Indians a new way to express their frustration with the government and helped transform a single-issue campaign into a mass youth movement.

At the rally in New Delhi, the influence was hard to miss.

Some protesters marched in Spider-Man masks and Batman costumes, carrying placards. Some signs of the protests show disrespect for social media, with memes and pop culture incorporated into the protests.

Another cartoon featuring the education minister asked: “When will AI start its work?” Another captured the heart of the group with the words: “Every joke is a (slight) change.”

Some of the messages and posters contained obscene and threatening language. The 23-year-old student said the protesters were only speaking the language of their generation.

“We see boring talk, we are a short generation. We have a habit of consuming things in a short time, so we are using the same methods to spread our message,” he said.

The joke is now on Modi

For Modi, who is entering his 13th year in office, the protests present an unusual challenge.

His image is built on strength and determination, but he can confuse young people if they react too strongly. Almost half of India’s population is under the age of 25, making young voters one of the country’s most influential voters.

But the protests have undermined a long history: defying Modi himself.

Modi’s humor has been rare in previous protests, where his government has been criticized for stifling dissent. But now even he has been mocked.

Modi’s gestures, breathing and mannerisms have been adapted into edits that turn his speech into political satire.

After Modi released a late-night video on Thursday addressing the protesters, he promised swift action against those who appeared in the education or employment exams.

But many netizens edited the video with captions and comments about his previous promises which they said were not fulfilled.

Another video went viral.

Modi’s first address began when he referred to the protesters as “friends”. The music video opens the door, and suddenly cuts to three little girls looking at the camera and replying: “No, we’re not.”

The 21-year-old student said there was no better way to criticize Modi than using the social media that helped build his political name.

“We are just answering him in his language,” he said.