India’s Instagram-first Gen Z dents Modi’s aura ahead of key state polls

NEW DELHI – Nearly five weeks after the leaders of India’s youth Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began their protest demanding the resignation of the education minister over exam paper leaks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 75, posted a rare selfie video, saying he was pained by their suffering and promised remedial steps.

The video – posted late on July 23 on Instagram, where CJP amassed 22 million, mainly Gen Z, followers in a matter of days in May – was not enough to satisfy the thousands of protesters who had gathered in central Delhi, braved a massive police crackdown days earlier, and then inspired protests across the country.

On July 25, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down, meeting the protesters’ main demand in a rare such setback for Modi.

Pradhan’s resignation hands a clear win to the CJP, whose young supporters have openly mocked Modi through raps, placards and graffiti, an almost unthinkable development only weeks earlier in a country whose politics have been almost fully dominated by Modi since he came to power in 2014.

“A large number of people who were at the protest may actually be his supporters – and that’s quite different from other kinds of protests in the past,” said Sanjay Srivastava, an anthropology professor at SOAS University of London.

“What might be interpreted as a win is the fact that there is now a much wider cross-section of people questioning the government. A much wider cross-section has begun to question the idea that the ruling party is necessarily good for the country.”

A leaked medical entrance exam triggered the protests, but other issues, mainly youth unemployment and fears among the young that artificial intelligence could take their jobs in places such as IT back offices that India is known for, analysts said.

“The paper leak is a trigger point,” political analyst Amitabh Tiwari said. “It is largely a reflection of the anxiety, nervousness, discontent, frustration and anger among the youth.”

Modi’s senior ministerial colleague Rajnath Singh said the government’s “top priority remains to understand our students’ genuine concerns, address them promptly and ensure that they know their voices are being heard”.

Government out of touch with Gen Z: Analyst

Indians aged 18 to 40 are estimated to make up about 40 per cent of the population but hold only about 10 per cent of seats in the Lower House of Parliament, down from more than double that in the 1950s, Tiwari said. The Cabinet’s average age is more than 60.

Though the CJP is not a political party, all opposition parties have tried to cash in on the rare opening they have seen in the protests against Modi by taking up the students’ cause.

The first tests of youth anger could come in elections in 2027 in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, in Punjab and in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) runs both Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

The bigger risk for Modi could lie in the 2029 national election if the CJP turns itself into a party. Its founder Abhijeet Dipke has said no decision has been made so far on joining electoral politics.

Some analysts say young voters have hitherto largely cast ballots along religious or caste lines, benefiting Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP. But things may be changing.

An actor – running for his own party and allied with opposition parties – was recently elected chief minister of the prosperous southern state of Tamil Nadu, propelled by his Instagram-first Gen Z fanbase.

“This has been a moment of reckoning for PM Modi – and it shows how they are completely out of touch with what Gen Z wants,” said author Anurag Minus Verma.

“For years, the BJP’s digital political strategy was centred on social media platforms like X, where much of the political conversation took place. But that conversation has increasingly shifted to Instagram now, particularly among younger users.”

The BJP may rule most of India and calls itself the world’s largest political party, but it has managed just 10 million Instagram followers in years, less than half what the CJP gained in days. The BJP has 23 million followers on X and 18 million on Facebook, though Modi’s personal followers across all three social media platforms are massive, ranging from 60 to 107 million.

“You need a kind of authenticity for Instagram,” said columnist Santosh Desai. “Pre-laboured, carefully massaged messages won’t work. This medium was created by this generation and has become what it has thanks to this generation. This generation has no reverence.”

For a decade, Modi has governed as a strong, decisive figure who admits few mistakes, and his government has long resisted sacking ministers under pressure. Indian farmers had to protest for nearly a year before Modi repealed contentious farm laws in 2021.

“From now (on), a leader who listens is likely to do well,” Tiwari said. “And that is what Modi is trying to show.” REUTERS