Indian police cracked down on 'cockroach' protesters. They went home and made memes about it

In India's capital, Delhi, a large anti-government demonstration against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration saw protesters met with batons and tear gas by police.

Thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement that began with protests over exam irregularities, marched towards parliament. They demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amid allegations of exam paper leaks and recruitment scandals. Pradhan has denied wrongdoing, accusing the opposition of exploiting students for political purposes. Mobile internet services were suspended around the protest site.

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Going to get beaten by cops, guys

Despite the police crackdown, which protesters claimed resulted in scores being beaten, and police reporting injuries to several officers, many young demonstrators responded by creating and sharing memes and videos online. These posts, often featuring sardonic humor, flooded platforms like Instagram once internet access was restored. Content ranged from "fit checks" filmed before the march to humorous "reviews" of tear gas.

For the young people creating these videos, the use of humor and social media content creation was not at odds with the reality of the protest. They described the act of filming as almost inseparable from the act of protesting itself. The self-directed humor often focused on the absurdity of the situation, such as filming an outfit reveal moments before fleeing tear gas or joking about the distance covered while evading police.

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serving face at the protest because the government couldn't serve justice