NO USE INDIA

Lower Thirds:

0:02	Report by Shalu Yadav

0:35	Shalu Yadav, DW Correspondents

2:24	Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia, Atlantic Council 

((Info:  PM Modi has responded but cockroaches say they want action over words. This week, nationwide protests have been held in many cities where people have been detained by police.   

Protests which started with demand of education min resignation are now widening to include demands of PM Modi’s resignation. Is this the biggest challenge facing Modi’s 12-year-tenure? )) 

Script: 

UPSOT and Visuals of a man defiantly telling security forces to hit him  

VO: Beat me up, hit me...shouts this man at the security forces in Delhi. He is seen as a symbol of defiance for the many Indian students met with a heavy crackdown by security forces on Monday.   

Best visuals of protests at Jantar Mantar  

VO: Undeterred, the students have returned to the protest site. They have been demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leak of exam paper questions.   

Visuals of graffitti on walls around Jantar mantar  

VO: But now they want more from the government...   

Shalu Yadav, DW Correspondents
PTC 1 - After the latest police crackdown, there are now calls for Prime Minister Modi to resign himself. He has consistently sought to portray himself as a decisive strongman….But his silence over the demands to sack his education minister is being seen as a sign of weakness by these protesters.   

UPSOT slogans against Modi  

VOX 1 - (in Hindi) 00.16 - We want Modi’s resignation as well. When the emperor is corrupt, the whole system becomes corrupt.  

VOX 2 in English -  (27:05) We are no longer the largest democracy in the world. We are the largest autocracy in the world today. Respecting  the citizens, respecting the youths of the country, he must resign today.   

VOX 3 (in Hindi) (5:54) If you cannot assure accountability to the people, if you are not able to ensure security of the people, then you should leave your post. I would also advise that before his remaining followers also come back to their senses, he should resign and move on.   

VOX 4 - 00.39 – The Police were so brutal with the students. Even girls were hit with sticks. We were also here and got injuries. We are not terrorists, we are educated youth.   

Over visuals of Ai generated cockroach memes  

VO: The protests started as an online satirical campaign in May by the so-called Cockroach Janta Party  in  response to India’s chief justice referring to unemployed youth as cockroaches.  

Visuals of protest 

UPSOT slogan - ‘who is compromised.... PM is compromised’   

VO: More than half of India’s 1.4 billion population is under the age of 30. They make up over 80% of all unemployed in India, despite the country's strong economic growth under Modi.  

But the protests now seem to be widening to reflect growing frustration among Gen Z over what they call institutionalized corruption.  

Facing an unprecedented challenge by the country's youth, this is unchartered territory for the Prime Minister. Many are now asking if he underestimated their discontent?   

Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia, Atlantic Council 
‘I think this is something that at the very least will serve as a rude awakening to the Prime Minister for really putting him in a position where he has to recognize that there is a problem and there is a challenge that needs to be addressed. But it's complicated, right? Because we've seen over the course of the last few months, indications of the BJP still remains very strong and popular nationally. But then you also have this, you know, this smouldering discontent among large numbers of the public.’ 

Visuals of protest site  

VO: Back at the protest site, we met someone who defended the government actions.   

PRO MODI VOX - what I can see, it is all hoodlums, nothing else, these are misguided children and they are being misguided by the so-called leaders who don't have any political space left for them.  

VO: Prime Minister Modi has now announced speedy trials to punish those involved in exam leaks and assured accountability.  

PTC 2 – Despite the growing backlash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither directly acknowledged the protesters nor expressed sorrow over the student suicides linked to the exam leak controversy. While he has promised strict action against those responsible, that message appears to have done little to calm the anger on the streets. 

Visuals of protest site 

VO: Protesters say they will stick to their core demands of the education minister’s resignation, compensation to the families of students who died by suicide and action against police officers whom they blame for excessive use of force at the protests..