For a moment, forget about the increasingly flagrant allegations and daily discoveries of the ‘hidden foreign hand’ behind the sudden and rapid rise of the Cockroach Janta Party and the so-called Gen Z movement in the country. After all, the very Prime Minister has publicly forgiven them. Never mind that that has served almost, it would seem, a signal to his followers to go after them no holds barred.
Every equation has two sides. And if it is really an equation, both sides must balance. But in this case, they don’t. Without further ado, let me provide the answer to the many questions I propose to raise below. Yes, I’m reversing things a bit. The answer comes first; the questions will follow.
And this is the solution to the equation, if not resolution of conundrum, that has confronted the nation this past several weeks: Insta-kranti ≠ Instant revolution.
I hope you appreciate how I’ve tried to emulate, if not mock, the lingo of those very tutorial mafias that are so maligned these days. After all, they provide answers to all possible questions that their highly paying clients will face in prospective entrance exams.
Real questions, however, deserve real answers. Unlike mock questions with their accompanying cheat sheets. Let me spell it out: Instagram kranti is not the same thing as instant, let alone, real revolution.
The former is a social media phenomenon, the latter a genuine social or political transformation, perhaps even upheaval, which takes much longer and is far harder to trigger. Especially in a complex country and diverse society like India.
Bharat, thankfully, is not Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka. Above all—and we must be most grateful for this—we are not Pakistan either.
Bharat has never been a country of instant or even real revolutions. It is too large, too varied and too politically layered. Governments have survived spectacular protests only to lose power much more quietly years later.
Conversely, they have weathered seemingly existential crises and returned stronger than before. Democratic politics is less like a hundred-metre sprint than a marathon run over uneven terrain.
But let us pause our reflections here to take a quick snapshot of the drama, or should I say, dharna, of the last few weeks.
Dharma is the right word in more senses than one. Because the mighty ruler, the very illuminator of dharma, was forced to resign. Sorry for being so literal but that is what Dharmendra means. And in both Hindu and Buddhist post-Vedic mythology, the throne of Indra is never secure. It is threatened not just by asuras, but by sages too.
Well, let’s get to the point. The youth of the nation have spoken. The government has listened. The cockroaches have won. Jantar Mantar has been cleared of andolan-jeevis.
In whatever manner or order, we’ve heard the above statements over and over again. So we may as well pose a most logical follow-up question: Khel khatam, game over?
And, in all fairness, we must admit that the answer has also been provided over and over again: no not quite. Not in the sense of ye to mehez trailer tha; picture abhi baqi hai. This was merely the trailer; the movie remains.
But much more seriously: khel to abhi shuru hua hai. The play has just begun. Or, to stretch the metaphor—for all the world’s a stage, as the great bard said. So, it’s much more like the end of Act 1.
Clearly, recent events do not bring the matter to a close. There is every likelihood that the opposition, smelling blood, will try to go for the kill. The government, on the other hand, will move from damage control to akraman—counter-attack to decapitate the enemy.
But where does that leave the rest of us, the ordinary and, by-and-large, well-meaning not to speak of patriotic citizens of India? Does this powerplay really concern us beyond a point, even if it titillates and provokes us?
Or do we largely long for good governance, efficient systems, and accountable institutions? Do we really care if opposition leaders fall flat on their faces again? Or the CJP is scattered like the cockroaches they take their name from?
Yes, it must have felt good for the opposition really to feel like an opposition after almost being reduced to irrelevance much of this past decade. But, on the other hand, will the government reform the system or address the underlying issue of reservations by birth delinked from comparable competence to those who don’t enjoy them?
I doubt it. Given the punch-a-tantra (translingual pun intended) nature of the political shenanigans in our national life, the utter confusion with conflicting accounts and narratives, not to speak of the fog of disinformation, and the pitched battles between godi and anti-national media. Sorry, animal, bird and even insect metaphors have become inevitable.
It is a heady cocktail of cockroaches, fasting pseudo saints, alleged police brutality, opportunistic opposition parties, the usual Leftist-Islamist cabal of “anti-nationals”, facing a vacillating and weakened sarkar, now in renewed, even desperate battle mode.
But behind it all is something genuine.
The real discontent and frustration of the country’s youth. Their fears and anxieties over their future. A broken education system, dominated by competitive exams and coaching mafias, and 13 years of drift by the ruling regime when it comes to this crucial national imperative.
From this perspective, offering Pradhan's head, so to speak, as a peace offering or turning him into a noble sacrifice—the scapegoat instead of scapegrace—actually signals that the ruling regime has a longer game-plan.
The first casualty of the social media age is perspective. Epidemiologic reels are mistaken for turning points. Hashtags become headlines; headlines become ‘history’. But Instagram virality does not mean regime change.
The ruling party has indeed mastered this medium, if we are to go by past history. No wonder, Prime Minister Modi, taken by surprise, has himself started posting midnight reels on Insta, urging even his ministers to do so.
Insta-kranti ≠ real revolution or regime change.
But politics is rarely simple. It is always something more than its main actors calculated. If the play's the thing, let’s see who catches out the conscience of the king. I can only hazard a guess—it will take much more than cockroaches.
Makarand R Paranjape | RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE | Author and commentator
(Views are personal)
(On X @MakrandParanspe)
