India’s youth protesters face restrictions after summer breakthrough

India’s youth protest movement is struggling to sustain its summer momentum as restrictions, detentions and legal proceedings make organising demonstrations increasingly difficult. In July, protesters celebrated at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar after their campaign forced federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. By October, voting rights demonstrations led by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, faced sweeping restrictions, with thousands of peaceful protesters detained.

The Gen Z-led movement grew out of frustration among young people, using online satire to help spread dissent across India. Its willingness to openly ridicule Prime Minister Narendra Modi challenged a longstanding political taboo. Yamini Aiyar, a former president of the Centre for Policy Research and visiting professor at Brown University, said its appeal crossed caste, gender and economic divisions, drawing interest even from upwardly mobile, lower-income groups within the BJP’s core support base.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party disputes accusations that it has responded excessively. National spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam told the BBC that constitutional protections for protest and expression must be exercised within the law and cannot compromise public security or other people’s rights. He also rejected suggestions that the government was suppressing peaceful dissent.

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das and fellow leader Ashutosh Ranka spent a week in Delhi’s Tihar jail after accusations that they had trespassed at Jantar Mantar. The location has been removed from the list of approved protest venues, a decision now facing a court challenge. Members of other organisations, including the left-wing All India Students’ Association, have also faced police action over alleged breaches of orders.

Lawyers say the consequences of legal proceedings can extend beyond any eventual verdict. Ali Khan, an assistant professor at Lloyd Law College, said cases that ultimately result in acquittal can still take years and discourage participation in protests. Constitutional lawyer Vrinda Grover, who is advising the CJP, described the restrictions as excessive, saying organisers had repeatedly stressed their commitment to non-violence.

Earlier campaigns provide a sobering backdrop. Farmers’ protests prompted the government to abandon controversial agricultural reforms after a year of demonstrations. Student activist Umar Khalid, meanwhile, has spent more than six years in jail without his trial beginning. Arrested under anti-terror laws following Delhi violence that killed 53 people, mostly Muslims, he was accused of being a key conspirator. His latest appeal was lodged in November.

Online participation also carries risks. Sakhi, a student protester affiliated with a left-wing Delhi University organisation, has received targeted abuse and transphobic attacks. The BBC reviewed posts threatening them with rape and violence. Sakhi said the harassment sometimes discouraged them from protesting or affected their clothing choices, and claimed some posts were removed after attracting millions of views.

Public opposition nevertheless continues. Tens of thousands attended an authorised rally in Delhi on 1 November organised by the Congress-led INDIA opposition alliance. CJP leaders maintain that the wider movement extends beyond their organisation. Das, photographed smiling after leaving Tihar prison on 21 October, told the BBC: “Time is on our side. We are a very young generation.”