‘They were playing nonsense with crosses on the PM’s big forehead!’ An Indian representative picks his favorite memes of gen Z | Funny

MeI have spent 16 years representing India, 10 of them under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. I have learned – mostly at corporate meetings, special exhibitions and translations at various institutions, universities and business schools among the English-speaking people of the upper class – that people are more happy when politics does not come up, as if it does not exist. I am often told: “Anuvab, you can make a joke about anything – without mentioning names, places, situations or events.”

You might read this and think I’m living in a humorless, semi-monarchic stasis. That’s not true either. Most of the comedians are the people who influence the humor of the state. Some get into trouble and some don’t, the bottom line is that it’s not worth the risk. In Indiawhatever is true, the opposite is often true.

Shows in India have a playbook, dating back to the Raj era. Often there is a hunger strike by a famous person (Gandhi first, OG). Some injustice happens, demands are made, people gather, police beat people with batons, things are broken, alliances are reached, a celebrity breaks, so eventually they sell out and a small group becomes a political party. Nothing is funny.

So I was very cynical when Gen Z will oppose it he started. And what I did not expect is that this drama will bring about a change in the government. An important medical paper was leaked (bribery, a good old weapon in India), education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was accused of failure, famous teacher Sonam Wangchuk went on hunger strike, a despicable group called the Cockroach Janata Party came after, many students poured into Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, I thought the government opened up to them, the police started talking, the police opened up to them… this movie already.

But what the Cockroach gen Z army did in response surprised everyone. Instead of just making political statements, where Marxist voices are combined with street performances, or resisting the police by throwing things at them, they target the government and the media that supports them with magic, satire, often rude and sometimes very funny, advanced videos, magic created by AI – on all Indian shows.

Another video showed hundreds of students at a train station chanting in unison: “The Prime Minister is a thief.” One cartoon showed Modi kissing two billionaires on either side of him – and the cartoonist, mockingly, signed his name. Something had started. Instead of offering some big shows, gen Z started to entertain.

Tech and Indian kids are like sheep and New Zealand. Tech has become our greatest asset. However, none of the great gods of technology – not Zuckerberg, not Musk, or, for that matter, the Indian government or the oligarchs – foresaw how many young people, rich and poor, all with mobile phones, would get angry and decide to use their revolutionary skills to unleash madness on Insta and X.

One of my favorite topics connects Modi with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Another type of Z-er took a liking to Meloni, saying that she should not date Modi because they are both red flags and spiritual. Another piece of AI slop showed Kim Jong Un, supposed to be Meloni’s rival, swearing at Modi in Hindi and shooting him.

Modi has done many positive things. Yet in the face of thousands of Meloni/Modi romcom meme mashups, he stood his ground.

Elsewhere, young people at the protest site have been holding demonstrations near the police, punctuated by Lana Del Rey’s line “everyone knows I’m a good girl, a cop” and carrying signs reading: “Catch me daddy.” India has never seen anything like this.

Modi tried to respond, releasing a selfie video about the official steps being taken. Gen Z-ers weren’t listening. Within minutes, there were AI footage showing Modi cursing, directing obscenities at the Education Minister. Many believed it was real. In no time, he filmed her and started playing with fists and crosses on her huge forehead! Another virus smash. Modi responded with another video, but his head is away from the camera, heavily embellished. He also mocked this, showing him walking away from the camera until he disappeared. It was unstoppable. Modi was trying to communicate. They were having fun.

The people of the government and their media tried all the usual news. It’s all about politics, with the help of George Soros, with China playing a role in disrupting the situation, he said. But students, who don’t watch TV, created viral jokes in response, taking a few seconds of the news anchor and adding their own divisive comments. It turned a late-night show hosted by popular state broadcaster Arnab Goswami on Republic TV, against youth gangs, into a Funny or Die movie, with the touch of a British satirist. Michael Spicer’s The Room Next Door.

My two favorite videos were Soros fake saying, in Indian language, that he is not involved, and a protester pretending to call Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping from Delhi to say the plan is going well. Finally, overwhelmed by memes, The Minister of Education resigned.

Like many post-colonial Indians who grew up under socialism, we were taught to always worry about what people might say about you. We played with those ideas. It was stumbling but possible. India’s Gen Z has proven that they don’t care – so they’re very funny. I don’t know if they are interested in direct talks with the government… but they are laughing.

A new education minister was appointed, Pralhad Joshi. Before he could say anything, the first comment under X’s announcement read: “Resign Pralhad Joshi.”