One of the exceptional aspects of the Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar in late July 2026 was the participation of both girls and women alike in remarkable numbers. Gen Z girls became a prominent face of the protest and when the police crackdown began, they were at the forefront of receiving batons, lathis, tear gas and water cannons. In fact, the police atrocities that were committed on these girls under the full glare of cameras and the media marked a turning point in galvanising public opinion against the government’s position that the protest was ill-intentioned and wrong and hence it should be put down and dismantled. The bravery, grit and daring of the daughters of India ultimately prevailed and the government had to back down and accept the demands of the students, prominent among which was the resignation of the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Every protest has its own flavour and the students protest at Jantar Mantar was marked by some unique and extremely creative slogans, posters, banners, wall-writings, graffiti, placards, music, songs, dances and street plays. Obviously, the atmosphere was surcharged with great anger and anti-government sentiment and it was reflected in the manner in which some prominent faces in the establishment were lampooned, ridiculed and satirised. Some protesters went overboard and even resorted to cuss words, profanities and derogatory language against the Prime Minister.
Although such protesters constituted a miniscule minority, the media and the algorithm on social media blew it out of proportion and provided fuel to the narrative that the protesters were of ‘loose character’ and lacked ‘sanskar’. What was forgotten was the state repression in its ugliest form that unleashed the worst violence on unarmed and peaceful protesters, half of whom were girls and women. It appeared as if the government wanted to turn the focus of the protests from the issue of education to the behaviour of the Gen Z protesters.
As the protest was withdrawn following the resignation of the minister, the organisers of the protest obtained a solemn assurance from the government that the protestors would not be penalised by the police with cases, FIRs, arrests, detentions and interrogations. It proved to be wishful thinking. As soon as the protesters went home, there began a huge crackdown through the state apparatus and the IT Cell as well as the hired thugs of the ultra-right-wing ecosystem namely the various senas, vahinis, dals and brigades. However, the sad part was that girl protesters were specially singled out and bore the brunt of this vicious oppression.
An FIR was registered in Noida against a 15-year named Ruchika Singh for ‘abusing’ the Prime Minister. She apologised to the nation on camera and her request for forgiveness was covered prominently by all mainstream TV channels. Another social media influencer, Shradha Singh also had to apologise for creating a ‘disrespectful’ video during the protest. Shradha stood in front of some RAF personnel dressed in blue camouflage uniforms and pretended to enact an advertisement for a toilet cleaner. Pointing towards the RAF personnel, she said, “Neela wala toilet keliye (blue one is for toilet).” Then referring to herself, who was dressed in red, she added, “Laal bathroom keliye (red one is for bathroom).” Singh deleted the video within an hour. Three days later, she posted two apology videos. Even after expressing remorse, the hate campaign against her has not stopped. 27-year-old model RhiyaAhir has alleged online harassment, trolling and a coordinated hate campaign. Ahir became the poster-girl of the Mumbai student protests after the photo of her blocking a police van went viral.
It is indeed tragic and unfortunate to note that those who are the most vociferous supporters of the ruling party and its ideology are the most active foot soldiers of the well-oiled machinery that has been activated to extract revenge on the protesters. They are sharing media clips and social media content posted by women during the 36-day protest. These are then circulated through social media in their echo chambers with instructions to subject these women to online harassment.
As reported by media, an X user calling himself Shashi Kumar and a co-convener of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh social media unit showed a video of three women and cajoled his followers to file an FIR against them for hurting the ‘sanatandharm’ and other venerated personalities. An X handle named ‘The Jaipur Dialogues’ shared a video of AISA National President Neha Bora and urged the Bajrang Dal to ‘teach her a lesson’. This account posted several photographs and videos of protesters seeking their identification and demanding action against them. The IT Cell through several anonymous accounts also shared videos and photographs of protesters, accusing them of insulting the Prime Minister, the Army or attacking the police. They have circulated personal details, including phone numbers and addresses of hundreds of girl protesters. There are also comments under the posts containing abusive and obscene remarks. The whole game plan can be termed as “beti ko sabaqsikhao and beti ko mat bachao” (teach the girl child a lesson and don’t save her). A complete departure from the apparently noble slogan of “betipadhao, betibachao” coined by the Prime Minister.
This indomitable spirit of the daughters of India has been eloquently articulated by Neha in a defiant message of resistance. She says, “The very people who police the language of young protesters are now busy leaking the personal details of minor girls on social media. This is your culture, this is your morality. The fact that your IT Cell members and Bajrang Dal supporters are appealing for people to ‘take care’ of me and other minor protesters – by openly calling for our rape – reveals your true character. Let me tell you this today: if you think your intimidation will frighten those girls and gender minorities, you are gravely mistaken. The people who were not afraid of the Prime Minister, who were not afraid of the Delhi Police, who were not afraid of the Home Minister, are certainly not going to be intimidated by your petty IT Cell ecosystem. This country belongs to us as much as it belongs to you. We have every right to express our views, to protest, and to speak on social media. As for those among you whose only business is spreading hatred, your threats do not intimidate us.”