India's Gen Z Protests Swell After July 20 Crackdown Hospitalized Over 100
Updated
Updated · TIME · Jul 31
India's Gen Z Protests Swell After July 20 Crackdown Hospitalized Over 100
3 articles · Updated · TIME · Jul 31
Summary
More than 100 protesters were hospitalized after police used batons, tear gas and pellet guns against a July 20 march toward India’s Parliament, turning a student-led protest into a broader anti-Modi flashpoint.
The unrest was fueled first by outrage over leaked medical entrance exams affecting more than 2 million candidates for about 140,000 seats, then intensified after Chief Justice Surya Kant likened unemployed youth to “parasites” and “cockroaches.”
Tens of thousands had already rallied after police removed hunger striker Sonam Wangchuk on July 18, and viral videos of the later violence helped spread copycat protests to Kolkata, Mumbai and Patna.
Independent experts in a prior report said injuries matched pellet gun fire, contradicting official denials and deepening scrutiny of Delhi Police’s response.
The protests do not yet threaten Narendra Modi’s hold on power, but they expose growing youth anger over unemployment, exam failures and the limits of his political appeal after 12 years in office.