The Critilizers

Every revolution begins with the students…….

Growing up, in classrooms with teachers that read from the government issued textbooks, we were told that Democracy is – for the people, by the people, of the people. As we flip through the pages, we learn about civil disobedience, non-violence, the Salt March, protests at Jallianwala Bagh that turned violent, illegal arrests and Gandhi’s famous indefinite hunger strike. When the Quit India movement took place and the British were asked to leave their position, officials continued to crackdown on protestors and arrest the leaders. We learnt that these were the struggles faced by our ancestors so we ( the future generation ) would not have to suffer the same fate. The fate of our country today rather says something quite different. 

India over the past 79 years has seen the fall of colonisation, rise of democracy and a fast paced decline of it. The 20th of July was declared “Black Day” for Indian Democracy by the CJP ( Cockroach Janata Party ) in response to the violent crackdown conducted by the Delhi Police on student protesters.

The Cockroach Janata Party protests at Jantar Mantar along with the hunger strike of Sonam Wangchuk, Neha Bora and other AISA activists began after the NEET paper leak in 2026. The National Eligibility cum Entrance test is a nationwide exam that is conducted where lakhs of students write it every year. The government then proceeded to call for Re-NEET pushing back the progress of every student that wrote the exam, resulting in suicides across the country and now a call for the resignation of Dharmendhra Pradhan – Education Minister of India. 

The hunger strikes have been taking place since the beginning of July 2026, on 18th July Sonam Wangchuk along with other activists was illegally detained by the Delhi police who claimed to be following High Court orders. 20th July was a pivotal painful day for the people of our nation. Over a lakh Students and citizens gathered at Jantar Mantar to peacefully protest and demand for accountability from the government.  What followed was police brutality at the highest level possible, they unleashed expired tear gas bombs, lathi charges, and put  up barricades. 

Videos and images of the unapologetic violence circulated across the internet angering netizens. Protests continue to erupt across the country in Mumbai, Bihar, Hyderabad, Bangalore etc. The government has issued a statement asking for accountability ( from who is the question ), the Chief Justice has said the pleas of the “cockroaches” will be ignored.

Democracy as a concept in India has been flawed for decades, the government did not wake up one day and choose to take away our rights, it’s been a mass systemic failure for years now. Picture this, a government with members of extremist religious groups that count on certain communities’ vote banks to be elected ( I stress on the word “elected” ) that favors the rich and those that worship them. The ruling party is openly islamophobic, sexist,  homophobic and has established itself as the only possible solution. This leaves the citizens blind eyed and in confusion, they watch cinema that associates the country to the government, fear has been instilled in them for years around the word “politics”. Accountability in this country is as good as what oil is to water ( when it comes to oil it’s not like there’s a spine to stand on either ).

The youth wants to use its voice and it should, one thing I don’t understand is the control around what is being said. Yes a student’s protest is about the students but why are you putting forward this farce that makes people think the education system is the only flaw that has been placed on them. They’re born into a country where discrimination, censorship, and corruption is the norm. The world is not perfect, there are political repercussions everyone is made to deal with. Are Kashmiri children not students? Was Umar Khalid, Neha Bora and many other activists not students? Are the oppressed, the poor, the women, the LGBTQIA, the Adivasis, the religious minorities, the sex trafficked, and all not students? The lives of more than 20 students along with the paper leak were taken by this horrid hierarchy we’ve established.

Lets not pretend to create an illusion of a democracy’s existence, just to later dismantle it.