HELLO! I AM ASH!
[all pronouns are welcome!!]
about me: i'm sometimes a horror artist and landscape photographer (#art & #photography, respectively), always a high school student drowning in homework
things currently on my mind: the haunting of bly manor, elliott's false cathedrals, v8 self-titled, this one artist i found on instagram (@glumbojumbo! check 'em out), eyes guts throat bones by moĆÆra fowley-doyle, and you
other places to find me aš: https://ashy-boy.carrd.co
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
The police are using batons with nails. They're throwing tear gas, molesting and sexually assaulting girl student protesters, making some of the men strip down to their undergarments, unlawfully detaining people among many MANY other things.
The students have no one but each other. Please look into this. It's still ongoing. Indian students and youth are fighting for their life, quite literally, and any support is good support for us right now.
The protest will not stop.
It ain't over until Pradhan resigns.
Until then, try to send medical aid or even just something heartfelt to keep the students morale up.
A not so brief account of my experience at the Delhi protest on the 20th of July:
CW: violence, police brutality
3 of my friends and I, all of us resident doctors in various disciplines, had made extremely last minute plans to get to the walk that was organised for the 20th. I thankfully have a friend who lives fairly close to Jantar Mantar, and we were able to leave our things at their place while we were at the protest. We had decided to leave our phones at their house-since all of us had been extremely critical of the current government online, as well as in correspondences to our friends and family-and one of my friends carried a burner phone, in order to record the protest.
We reached Jantar Mantar at around 2:00am, fearing that the police may stop people from entering the site later in the day (this was of course what happened), and we milled through the crowd, talking to some of the other protestors at the site. At some point, we realised that the police presence had increased significantly, and the rapid action forces, had also been deputised to "deal" with us. At this point, I honestly still wasn't feeling scared at all. We were surrounded by several like minded people, who were also opposed to the current ruling party. It genuinely felt like we could speak with ease, for the first time in 12 years. We then found out, that the cops had started welding the barricades together. I'll admit that this is when I felt genuine fear. The minute we heard about this happening, the people around me immediately started talking about Jallianwala Bagh. Jallianwala Bagh, for those who don't know about the massacre, was a peaceful site of protest, where a large group of Indians had gathered to protest, during the Indian fight for independence. General Dyer, had then ordered all exits to be sealed, and opened fire on the protestors. A lot of what India faces under this government, feels eerily familiar to what she faced under British colonial rule.
Eventually, some of the protestors were able to push over the barricades, and we were able to start trying to move towards the parliament. That's unfortunately, when the violence began. The cops and RAF, started very indiscriminately lathi charging the crowd. There was no violence from our side. The cops had even parked a truck full of massive rocks, right by the protest site, probably hoping that the protestors would make use of them. In the end, we only have videos of the police themselves, chucking the rocks to make it look like the protest had been violent. And even after getting beaten up, the only responses I saw from the protestors, were pleas to be allowed to continue the march. We saw a lot of young students, face police brutality for the first time, and have to quickly come to the understanding, that the cops were not there to help them.
My friends and I had primarily gone, because we knew the cops would attempt to attack the protestors, and we wanted to provide whatever little medical aid we could. We had reached the site with 6 bags of saline, and at least 50 rolls of gauze, among other supplies. We were completely out by the time we left at night. I saw a lot of scalp and head injuries-it seemed like the wonderful police had gone out of their way to aim at protestors heads. I also saw a concerning number of children who had been injured by them. I counted 6 cases of eardrum rupture, and more bruises and cuts than I could keep track of. It was while I was attending to one of the injured protestors, that I was hit with the lathi for the first time. They saw very clearly, that I was in my doctor's coat, stethoscope in my pocket, and was treating a patient. They still tried to physically assault me. It was my fellow protestors, who immediately came to my defense, and got in between the police and I. This was our reality at the time. The only people we could rely on, were each other. A friend of mine was almost carted off by the police, to be placed under unlawful detention. He, like all of our little group, was only treating the injuries of the protestors. It was only because of the protest, once again, that he was able to escape from their hold, and disappear back into the crowd. My friend who carried his burner phone, had it snatched from his hand, stomped on, and was then asked who was paying him to be there. We were a fair distance away from the tear gas shells, so we didn't experience the effects of the expired canisters the cops threw at the protests who were closer to the parliament. I found out after reaching the airport, that it was the nearby gurudwara and mosque, who were sheltering the protestors, and treating the inflammation inflicted by the tear gas. The same people, the media like to call Khalistanis or Pakistanis, they were the people who stepped up to help the protestors who were getting gassed by the cops.
We did not make it to the parliament, it's true. The delhi police and the RAF, who had all conveniently "lost" their name tags, made sure of it. But honestly, I can't find any sort of disappointment in myself. For the past few years, I have felt so alone, wondering why the people simply accepted the harm this government has inflicted on our country and our communities. But I came to realise that I wasn't alone, and I never had been. There I was, surrounded by people of all ages, who wanted better for this country. And it filled me with a sense of patriotism, that I hadn't felt in so long. These were ordinary people, who had taken leave from their jobs and studies, and were here, right beside me, demanding a better India.
Today I returned to my hospital, and to the outside observer, things may seem to have not changed in the slightest. But something feels different. Maybe I'm being foolish, or overly optimistic. I returned with nothing much to show, but a slightly depleted bank account, and a large bruise on my shoulder, but yesterday felt like an awakening. The people who want to claim that the 20th was the death of democracy, are so incredibly mistaken, because this is just the beginning. Now and forever ą¤ą¤ą¤ą¤¼ą¤²ą¤¾ą¤¬ ą¤ą¤¼ą¤æą¤Øą„ą¤¦ą¤¾ą¤¬ą¤¾ą¤¦.
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
Please look it up. Students have been beaten bloody. Theyāre using electrified batons. Theyāre using batons with nails hammered in. Theyāre dragging people off and locking them up for no reason. People are being beaten, assaulted, and even molested by the police.
The government is doing everything it can except for actually having an honest dialogue with the protestors.
Itās important to note that despite all the police brutality, despite how the government has had extra forces airlifted to Delhi to help quash the protest, this has deterred no one.
Not only is the protest in Delhi going strong, the government closed down every metro station in Central Delhi in an effort to stop them and it still hasnāt.
Thereās protests in most major cities in India in solidarity. Palakkad, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, and probably more besides. There has been a protest in the UK as well in solidarity.
People who arenāt at the protest are donating so much food that the organisers have had to ask them to stop doing so because thereās more than enough. In lieu of that people are donating money for medicine, lawyers, cleanup, and umbrellas.
Most crucially, hopes arenāt broken. Spirits arenāt broken. People with bruises and broken bones are still showing up. People are showing up cosplaying as freedom fighters and super heroes and a dinosaur. People are doxxing goons who show up trying to incite violence. People are making reels. People in Mumbai literally opened a moving police detainment van to allow arrested students to escape.
*all links lead to Instagram posts or reels showing the same. Almost every major Indian news network has been bought and either ignores the protests or depicts them unfairly. All honest news comes from people on the ground and smaller independent news outlets.
Decent coverage OF the protest coverage below, specifically how the protests have overcome media barriers to get the story of police brutality etc out:
For 12 years, Modi and his party have dominated Indian social media. Now, youth use the same platforms against him.
please read this even if you're not indian. especially if you're not indian.
you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.
first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.
now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:
in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.
and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.
and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.
it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:
ā¢ infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.
ā¢ youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.
ā¢ only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.
ā¢ manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.
ā¢ journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.
ā¢ even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.
and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.
what i'm asking:
if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.
if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.
india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.
The movement, which began as a satirical protest, has evolved into a nationwide challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Supporters of India's youth-led Cockroach movement said Tuesday they will continue their protest in New Delhi, refusing to leave their sit-in site a day after police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of them as they tried to march toward Parliament.
Hundreds of protesters camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India's examination system.
"We are going to continue our protest," said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, which emerged just two months ago.
The movement, drawing students, professionals and families, marks a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government in its third term, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and its use of force to respond to protests. [...]
Sona Bisht, a 20-year-old student who was part of the protest, said the confrontation strengthened her resolve.
"If the government thinks that doing this with Gen Z, they can stop us, then that won't happen. We are here talking about education, talking about securing our future. And till the time our demands are not met, we will not move from here," she said.
"Definitions developed thus far about youth, like the Gen Z narrative, have largely been linked to roles attributed by the dominant system. The rulers have invented a whole range of terms ā rebellious, irresponsible, apolitical, extremist, consumerist ā not to understand youth, but to neutralize it. They know as well as we do that whoever wins over the youth wins over society. [...] Thus the question is not whether youth is powerful, but in whose interest this power is directed. Todayās uprisings ā such as those in Nepal, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, and beyond ā demonstrate that youth continues to emerge as a decisive actor. Young women like Deniz Ciya have proven this with their lives. These uprisings are not expressions of generational temperament. These āGen Z uprisingsā are expressions of a social force confronting structural crisis inherent in the current system. [...] Recent youth uprisings ā whether in the form of environmental justice protests, labor movements, or uprisings against authoritarian governments ā are proof that youth worldwide are not only responding to a set of circumstances; they are consciously and collectively rejecting the narratives that seek to define them. Thus, it is crucial to analyze what transpired, and draw lessons from these uprisings, particularly in the context of building a global youth democratic confederalism. For the power of youth movements is interconnected, despite being geographically distant." ā "Beyond "Gen Z": Defending Revolutionary Youth Spirit" by LĆŖgerĆ®n
"The youth in general, and especially the young women, are the spark of every revolution.We canāt look at the history and found a revolution without the youth. We are a fundamental factor. We should be aware of this reality, we should take conscience of our historical role. By doing this we will provide ourselves with a plan that will allow us the unity of action and objectives. The Youth should not be condemned to be a slave of the capitalist system. [...] If we reject the labels and mentalities imposed by the system, taking consciousness as Internationalist Youth in a global level and organizing ourselves, is there someone who can stop us?" ā "The youth is the spark of every revolution" by LĆŖgerĆ®n.
hihi !! im indian and not in the country rn and i saw your post about the protests? my brother did mention something but im not sure ,, could you please help me out w some context ? tysm!! <3
hii!! thank you for showing interest. im going to give you a brief summary of whats going on and then i'll mention some pages you can go thru to get a detailed account of whats happening
NEET is a huge national level exam that 12th pass students take to get into medical colleges. this exam is often times the only ticket out of poverty for lakhs of children, this year's neet exam got LEAKED and 21 students took their own life. in response to the initial outrage the chief justice of India called the unemployed youth of the country "cockroaches"
Abhijeet Dipke, an indian who was in the US at that time made a satirical tweet that all these "cockroaches" should come together and form their very own Cockroach Janta Party (parody of the ruling party: Bhartiya Janta Party)
One thing lead to another, people started joining and today its day 30 of the CJP holding protests in Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in Delhi, the capital of the country. Their demands are that they want Dharmendra Prasad, the Education Minister, to resign. Since many MAJOR papers have been leaked during his term, he clearly can't handle his job properly.
Along with this, Sonam Wangchuk, a renowned scientist and activist had been on an indefinite hunger strike and saturday was day 20 of his hunger strike, that day Delhi Police FORCIBLY removed him from the protest site, in an incredibly aggressive and disrespectful manner and they are currently keeping him in a hospital against his will.
TODAY, 20TH JULY, 2026 the youth has taken to the streets of Delhi, "Chalo Sansad" (Let's Go To Parliament) is a peaceful march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament. Just last night Delhi Police had made assembly of more than 5 people ILLEGAL in an attempts to scare people.
people are on the streets of delhi as i type this and i am scared, hopeful and INCREDIBLY proud. Inquilab Zindabad. Long Live Revolution.
you can find more details on: @/cockroachejantaparty on insta/X and @/peektv_in on insta there are many more authentic pages but these two are where I've gotten most info from
as for the non-indians, i urge you all to talk abt this PUBLICLY, post abt whats happening in my country, because unfortunately, the PM cares more abt his image in foreign countries than his citizens safety and rights.
the police brutality was insane, the videos coming out if the protest site shook me to my core i cant even type this properly. the protest was PEACEFUL MARCH led my STUDENTS, YOUTH there were kids as young as 12,13,14,15,16 THEY WERE NOT SPARED the police were beating them with sticks with the intention to break their limbs!! women were molested and their clothes were torn! doctors and medical teams who were helping the injured were beaten! there were 9-10 tear gas bombings ONE AFTER ANOTHER
and yet
THE PROTEST HAS NOT STOPPED. i feel immense guilt and shame of not being able to be there but the least i can do is inform people and spread awareness. PLS REBLOG. TALK ABT THIS
sources: @/cockroachjantaparty ; @/peektv_in these are the most authentic sources as they report directly from the protest site almost every hour
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
as i said previously, NEET is the only entry point for medical courses across the country and is also required for admissions abroad. an average aspirant dedicates 1500-2500 hours annually for 2 years to this exam because it dictates the entire course of their careers. now, the question papers didn't leak themselves. they were illicitly bought by coaching institutes for hundreds of thousands of rupees. imagine already being mentally crushed due to the rigorous preparation you have to do, but then you realise all that was for nothing because people will just buy their way up and achieve higher ranks than you could with hours of preparation. that would destroy š¢šÆšŗ individual, and these are high schoolers we're talking about.
tw // forced displacement, state violence, destruction of indigenous land
there is something happening in madhya pradesh (india) right now that not many people are talking about.
it's called the ken-betwa river linking project. ā¹44,605 crore (40 million USD). india's first ever river interlinking project.
the project is being built inside the panna tiger reserve. to make way for the daudhan dam, over 6,000 hectares of protected forest land will be submerged. 12,000 trees have already been felled inside the reserve. estimates for the total number of trees that will be destroyed across the project range from 2.3 million to 6 million. the supreme court's own central empowered committee flagged this. the panna tiger reserve had tigers declared locally extinct in 2005. it took years of work to bring them back. the project will now drown the habitat that recovery was built on. it also threatens the ken gharial (crocodile) sanctuary and critical vulture nesting sites downstream.
22 villages are directly affected in the first phase alone. over 7,000 families. gond and kol adivasi (tribal) communities who have lived on this land for generations, whose entire existence ā food, income, culture, identity ā is tied to jal, jangal, zameen ā water, forest, land. they are being told to leave.
most families have rejected the rehabilitation package. the compensation is below market rate, surveys have discrepancies, and many families have received nothing at all. homes have been demolished during the monsoon season. people are living in the open, in the rain. there are videos of a tribal family sitting among the rubble of their home circulating on social media. the administration says precautions were take but families say they were inside when the walls came down.
when they protested, the government of india filed false criminal cases against them. cut off electricity to villages. demolished schools. and then, on july 19 at 5am, police moved in and forcibly broke up a 17-day sit-in on the banks of the barana river. the protest leader amit bhatnagar, who had been on hunger strike for 11 days, was taken away. the police say he was hospitalised because his health "worsened." (exactly what happened with sonam wangchuk) the protesters say he was detained before he could speak to the media about alleged corruption of ā¹400 crore (4 million USD) in the project. the protesters' slogan was: nyay do, ya maar do ā give us justice, or kill us.
this is being done in the name of providing water to bundelkhand, a drought-prone region. that's a real problem that deserves a real solution. but the people being displaced are asking something reasonable: show us the surveys. pay us fair rates. give us land for land, not just cash. consult our gram sabhas the way the law requires.
india has some of the most biodiverse forests on earth. the adivasi communities who have protected that land for centuries are not obstacles to development. they are the reason any of it still exists. and they are being evicted, intimidated and arrested so a dam can be built inside a tiger reserve that the government's own courts said should not be touched.
to all the non-delhi residents/people who can't join the protest for xyz reason, who are feeling helpless and guilty and don't know what to do: spread the word.
no, seriously, spread the word. there is so much misinformation out there, partly due to the useless indian media channels who are calling protestors fighting for a chance to be heard "terrorists". they're saying that the protestors are committing brutality (like throwing stones) against the police when it is the opposite.
its a police using teargas and batons against teenagers, women and literal children. they're ripping the clothes of the women. people are badly injured. all because our corrupt coward "education" minister cannot take accountability for paper leak which caused over 20 deaths by suicide.
some are trying to derail the protests, calling the protestors "anti-national" and but you have to do your part in ensuring that this revolution isn't over until dharmendra pradhan resigns and the youth of india are heard and acknowledged. it will save the future of the students who are currently preparing/will prepare for similar exams.
spread the videos of the police brutality (save them if you can), write emails to the pmo, and share as much info as you can about the protest; how and why it is happening. speak up; online and also in real life, translate posts/videos, make your own. correct and educate people who are still against this movement. don't let this die out until our government finally listens to its citizens.
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
Please look it up. Students have been beaten bloody. Theyāre using electrified batons. Theyāre using batons with nails hammered in. Theyāre dragging people off and locking them up for no reason. People are being beaten, assaulted, and even molested by the police.
The government is doing everything it can except for actually having an honest dialogue with the protestors.
Itās important to note that despite all the police brutality, despite how the government has had extra forces airlifted to Delhi to help quash the protest, this has deterred no one.
Not only is the protest in Delhi going strong, the government closed down every metro station in Central Delhi in an effort to stop them and it still hasnāt.
Thereās protests in most major cities in India in solidarity. Palakkad, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, and probably more besides. There has been a protest in the UK as well in solidarity.
People who arenāt at the protest are donating so much food that the organisers have had to ask them to stop doing so because thereās more than enough. In lieu of that people are donating money for medicine, lawyers, cleanup, and umbrellas.
Most crucially, hopes arenāt broken. Spirits arenāt broken. People with bruises and broken bones are still showing up. People are showing up cosplaying as freedom fighters and super heroes and a dinosaur. People are doxxing goons who show up trying to incite violence. People are making reels. People in Mumbai literally opened a moving police detainment van to allow arrested students to escape.
*all links lead to Instagram posts or reels showing the same. Almost every major Indian news network has been bought and either ignores the protests or depicts them unfairly. All honest news comes from people on the ground and smaller independent news outlets.
"Insulting vande Mataram is a punishable offense." Currently being discussed in the Parliament session. Bought up by Mr. Amit Shah
Vaande Mataram, which played a gigantic role in the freedom movement of India. Vande Mataram which was used in Protest Marches, used as a rallying cry by revolutionaries, students across India.
The parliament session kept getting adjourned when the current protest matter, neet paper leak was bought up.
Everything seems contradictory, no? Lack of communication is present not not in our houses but in bases of our government system.
for those unaware of the situation, an indian engineer, activist,Ā innovator, education reformer, and environment activist who refused to patent his inventions, so that people could use them freely, and built a free school for underpriviliged kids, went on a hunger strike to demand accountability from the indian government for the massive amount of exam paper leaks that have occurred during this current government's rule. his name is sonam wangchuk, and today, on the 20th day of his hunger strike, he was forcefully apprehended by the delhi police, and taken into custody. so far, we have no idea where they've taken him, and during his apprehending, a large group of men forced their way onto the dais he was lying down on(because he's no longer capable of even sitting up in his current state), and held up screens to prevent people from even seeing or recording what they were doing to him behind them.
as a result of the latest paper leak-which was a medical entrance exam-20+ kids committed suicide. this man saw their plight, and decided to use a form of peaceful protest, that indian freedom fighters used, to fight against colonial rule. it's something that has barely gotten any media coverage, as most news channels and newspapers are tightly controlled by the government. there were plans to conduct a peaceful walk to the parliament, and before that could proceed, the police-armed in tactical gear-kidnapped a frail old man, who can't even stand without assistance. this is plain and simple fascism, please talk about it on your various social media platforms to put some pressure on the indian government for the immediate release of this man.
update on this post: we now know he's being kept at safdarjung hospital, and has not been allowed to leave, or have access to his phone or the internet. they have essentially arrested him for practicing his right to peaceful protest. a colleague of mine who works at safdarjung, has not been able to meet him or check on his condition.
