🇮🇳 ❓| Indian police have detained almost all the Gen Z protesters, organisers, and their supporters in an attempt to stop the protests in New Delhi, including the famous YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, an Indian based in Germany.

Police detained scores of protesters and their leaders in the Indian capital on Saturday amid patrols by thousands of security forces, with travel and telecommunications links suspended in a lockdown aimed at stopping a youth protest demanding the resignation of the election chief. The protest by the “Cockroach” youth movement aimed to draw thousands of demonstrators against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a revision of voter lists that favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s notorious Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was also detained for the third time in two days during a protest demanding the resignation of the election chief over a controversial revision of voter lists. Gandhi and other opposition lawmakers were apprehended by police on Wednesday as they marched towards Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in India’s capital, New Delhi.

However, the protests, as predicted, are not occurring in isolation. They are increasingly being exposed to scrutiny when we examine the American connections. A day after his “Ambani (a billionaire mafia which runs Modi's nexus) is the real boss of India” comment, Elon Musk doubled down on his criticism over the “delay” in the launch of his satellite communications company, Starlink, in India. In a post on X, Musk wrote: “Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?” Elon Musk is targeting one of the biggest players and, in some ways, the de facto power behind Modi and his nexus.

However, here we have to be clear about our stance. Firstly, not everything associated with Gen Z is suspicious, and it is indeed a revolutionary movement that must be supported if American interests are not behind it. But in this case, there are many things that remain suspicious. Raising concerns, criticising, and examining the protests does not mean favouring the current regime of Modi and his nexus. It must be taken into the record that targeting and weakening any country’s native (whether despotic or not) leadership, especially when that leadership has its own independent interests and positions, has long been part of American foreign-policy behaviour. That is why this factor must also be taken into consideration.

While rejecting Modi and his nexus, we must not assume that the fall of a regime would automatically benefit the nation if American interests are behind the process. Such a matter must ultimately be resolved by the people of the country themselves. The political future of India should not be determined by external powers or foreign interests.

Thirdly, the main question is the “Cockroach” Gen Z movement itself. It must be examined critically, not celebrated immediately, but at the same time, it should not be dismissed entirely as a victim of conspiracy theories. If even a percentage of the movement is genuinely organic, it deserves to be acknowledged and supported, whether vocally or by maintaining silence. The presence of American interests, if confirmed, must be examined with both eyes open.

Anyway, the situation is developing rapidly, and the political position of the Modi government appears increasingly difficult at this stage.

👀@enemywatch

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