Kuchu Puchu, when will you resign: How Gen Z used memes, reels as tools of protest

Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest showed how Gen Z transformed Instagram, memes, reels and digital tools into powerful instruments of mobilisation, outpacing traditional methods of policing and governance. The movement underscored a widening generational gap, ultimately forcing dialogue and culminating in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In Short

• Jantar Mantar revived as protest hub after NEET paper leak
• Gen Z used Instagram over WhatsApp, Facebook for mobilisation
• Police tactics failed; humour and AI tools boosted protests

Delhi's Jantar Mantar has once again become the stage for a historic protest, more than a decade after the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal movement transformed it into the epicentre of public dissent. While every mass movement shares certain common features, each generation reshapes the way it protests.

The recent Gen Z-led agitation demonstrated how a widening generation gap prevented governments, institutions and even society from fully understanding the movement until it had gathered unstoppable momentum.

Having covered the protests that followed the Nirbhaya case, Baba Ramdev's agitation, and the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, the contrast was striking. The millennials who took to the streets a decade ago organised differently from the generations before them. Political leaders and officials who had grown up watching traditional street protests of the 1980s and 1990s struggled to understand how Twitter could organically mobilise thousands of people. Years later, covering Gen Z at Jantar Mantar revealed another transformation in protest culture.

The experience at Jantar Mantar was not entirely unfamiliar. Similar patterns had already emerged in neighbouring countries, where young people used social media as the backbone of anti-government movements.

In Sri Lanka, students and young protesters came out against the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family's alleged corruption, rising inflation, economic hardship and the country's deteriorating economy. Authorities imposed curfews, internet restrictions, police action, tear gas and military deployment in an attempt to suppress the protests.

However, Facebook and WhatsApp evolved from communication platforms into tools for mobilisation, while VPNs allowed protesters to bypass restrictions. As government crackdowns intensified, the movement grew stronger. Protesters eventually entered the residences of the President and Prime Minister, forcing the Rajapaksa family to leave power and flee the country. After the government collapsed, many of the same young protesters returned to restore order, cleaned public spaces, formed human chains and ensured that national property was protected.

Within two years, Bangladesh witnessed a similar mobilisation. Public anger over alleged corruption, an authoritarian style of governance and a controversial law brought Gen Z onto the streets. Authorities responded with conventional methods including baton charges, tear gas, water cannons, internet shutdowns, social media restrictions and curfews. Yet officials from older generations struggled to understand how crowds continued to grow despite these measures. As the government intensified its response, police firing turned Dhaka's streets into scenes of bloodshed.

Facebook became the defining platform of Bangladesh's protest movement. The generation whose grandparents had fought Pakistan in 1971 now sought what it described as liberation from Sheikh Hasina's government. Bengali slogans spread through mobile phones, banners, posters and social media, amplifying the movement until the government collapsed and Sheikh Hasina left the country.

The same methods later appeared in Nepal. Public anger rapidly escalated into protests. The government imposed internet restrictions and blocked social media platforms, but young protesters continued organising through WhatsApp, Facebook and newer digital applications. The movement eventually resulted in a change of government.

In 2026, similar methods reached Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

The movement adopted an unusual symbol – the cockroach. A creature commonly associated with disgust became a badge of identity for students struggling with unemployment, alleged paper leaks, concerns over the education system and wider frustrations. Young protesters proudly embraced the label.

Events unfolded after the alleged NEET paper leak, turning Jantar Mantar into the centre of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement. Crowds steadily grew. A major reason governments and society failed to anticipate the scale of the mobilisation lay in the widening gap between generations and their different ways of thinking, communicating and organising.

While discussions on WhatsApp and Facebook focused on theories involving deep-state actors, China and Pakistan, Gen Z organised itself almost entirely through Instagram. For many millennials, Instagram remained a platform they were still adapting to, while many older generations dismissed it as a space where unemployed youth merely created reels. The movement proved otherwise.

Instagram overtook WhatsApp and Facebook as the protest's primary organising platform. Protesters held the government responsible for the alleged NEET paper leak and made Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan the central political target, demanding his resignation. They had a clear issue, a clear target, a clear venue and one powerful weapon — the smartphone.

At first, Instagram reels mocking the issue drew ridicule. Few took the protests at Jantar Mantar seriously. But beneath the surface, participation kept growing. Satirical reels multiplied, Jantar Mantar became the focal point of online discussions among young people, and demands for Pradhan's resignation soon emerged as a trending topic.

Covering a generation driven by mobile phones required reporting through the same medium. Speaking directly to protesters revealed that Jantar Mantar differed sharply from the narrative circulating on WhatsApp and Facebook. The internet fundamentally reshaped the movement's organisation.

As Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike continued, the crowd expanded. Students began posting on Instagram about shortages of food and drinking water. Within hours, food delivery executives from platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato started arriving at Jantar Mantar carrying meals. Initially, it appeared that students were ordering food for themselves. Within 24 hours, however, it became evident that supporters from elsewhere were placing the orders.

People from across India, as well as Indians living in Dubai, Qatar, the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe, began sending food through delivery applications. Many orders carried a simple instruction asking delivery workers to distribute the food among protesters at Jantar Mantar.

As news of this support spread across Instagram, shortages disappeared. Food, drinking water, juice, cold drinks, medicines and sanitary products became readily available through donations.

The Parliament march on July 20 marked another turning point.

Authorities shut metro stations to prevent students from reaching Jantar Mantar. Those unable to use the Metro simply walked. When police stopped auto-rickshaws from heading towards the protest site, students instructed drivers to mention nearby locations instead, while simultaneously sharing those workarounds on Instagram for others.

Police prevented banners and flags from entering the protest site. Protesters responded by using artificial intelligence tools to create posters and printing them instantly through Blinkit near Jantar Mantar. When authorities imposed internet restrictions around the area, protesters walked to locations where mobile networks remained available before uploading content online.

Instagram activity expanded rapidly. Posting content related to CJP became a trend across Indian cities. As online participation increased, more young people joined demonstrations on the ground. Memes and reels became increasingly creative and humorous. One widely shared meme repeatedly asked Dharmendra Pradhan, "Kuchu Puchu, when will you resign?"

The movement also displayed an unusually fearless attitude towards police and security forces. Protesters openly asked police personnel whether baton charges would take place that day. Some requested Rapid Action Force personnel to fire tear gas. In Bihar, students jokingly urged police to use water cannons, questioning why they were not doing so. A generation that had grown up on Instagram appeared to have replaced fear with humour.

Interactions between protesters and security personnel also changed. Instead of maintaining distance, many students casually engaged with officers. The trend spread so widely online that opening Instagram often felt like entering Jantar Mantar itself. Gradually, content inspired by the protest also began appearing in Pakistan, where young users connected with the movement through similar social media trends.

Tear gas became the subject of jokes. Internet shutdowns lost much of their impact. Students began carrying masks and shared online instructions explaining how to reduce the effects of tear gas.

Police and security personnel increasingly appeared unable to counter the movement's methods. Several officers deployed at Jantar Mantar reportedly had children who themselves had been affected by the alleged NEET paper leak. Many sympathised with the students but continued enforcing official orders. Police action during the Parliament march only expanded the scale of the agitation.

According to this account, government intelligence agencies also struggled to understand the movement's organisation. Narratives about foreign interference gained attention, but authorities failed to recognise the level of unity among students aged between 16 and 22 years.

The account also claims that hostile actors attempted to spread misinformation around the protests, something Delhi Police also highlighted. Government agencies continued issuing public awareness messages on social media. However, those messages often failed to reach protesters because internet restrictions imposed around the protest site prevented effective communication.

Many students expressed the same sentiment to the reporter: "If we don't listen to our own fathers, why would we listen to yours?" That remark reflected what appeared to be one of the movement's defining characteristics - a widening gap between three generations that prevented the government from understanding how Gen Z communicated and mobilised.

Traditional methods of policing and public order struggled to identify the changing nature of digital-era protests. Once the government felt sufficient pressure, discussions took place. Soon afterwards, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. The young protesters immediately announced the end of the movement, celebrated at Jantar Mantar and returned home.

From Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to Nepal and finally Jantar Mantar, this generation demonstrated that it did not fear baton charges, tear gas or restrictions. Dialogue, rather than force, remained the only effective way to engage with what many participants described as a stubborn generation.

- Ends