Food, fury and supporters near and far keep India protest alive
A steady stream of food delivery riders carrying meals, snacks and bottled water is helping sustain a youth-led protest movement that has sprung up in the heart of India’s capital. Motorcycles weave through traffic before pulling up beside clusters of...
A youth-led protest in India’s capital has been sustained by an unusual but vital supply chain: food delivery riders ferrying meals, snacks and bottled water from supporters across the country and overseas.
Near Delhi’s Jantar Mantar observatory, motorcycles have been threading through traffic to drop off donations for demonstrators camped out in support of the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, a movement that began as online satire in May and has since turned into a real-world rallying point over alleged exam paper leaks. According to the monitored public feed, the protest has been pressing for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“From Kerala to the USA, orders are coming from everywhere,” rider Suraj Kumar, 25, said as he sat on his motorcycle with a bag of kachoris, a deep-fried snack, waiting for volunteers to collect the delivery. Food packages are being passed hand-to-hand through police barricades toward the centre of the protest site, where hundreds of people have gathered around a raised platform.
The encampment has continued despite a police crackdown on Monday, when tens of thousands of mostly young people tried to march on parliament. The feed said many of the protesters are under 30, part of a demographic that has long voiced frustration that India’s economic growth has not translated into enough jobs.
“People are angry, especially after the police started beating innocent students. But not everyone can come here so they are sending food,” said Raj Rathore, 25, a volunteer who has spent recent days unloading water bottles, fruit and biscuits.
Volunteers and student organisers said the protest has been kept alive by donated supplies and support networks operating around the clock. Rina Rawat, a 20-year-old Delhi University student, said the gathering was continuing “purely because of people’s kindness” and the sense that participants are united behind a shared cause. Rawat said she was struck on the leg by police batons on Monday but returned the next day.
The demonstration has also become a rare public display of open criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has not directly addressed the protests in the feed summary. At the site on Wednesday, the crowd reportedly grew to about 5,000 despite intermittent monsoon rain. Most were students waving placards, chanting slogans and playing patriotic Bollywood songs.
“I was a Modi supporter until 10 days ago,” one protester, Mukesh, said, adding that police action had changed his view.
The feed also described a strong volunteer support effort beyond food. Young doctors and medical students have been running a first-aid stall for about a month, and volunteers have been clearing puddles, collecting rubbish and keeping crowds cool with hand-held fans. Medical workers said they had been especially busy over the past two days, treating dizziness and nausea.
Protesters have mixed references to India’s independence movement with more modern and playful symbols, carrying portraits of Bhagat Singh, holding copies of the Constitution and wearing Spider-Man masks. Others described themselves as “baddies” in slogans and chants.
Among those at the site, 19-year-old Arpita Verma said the movement had set aside religious divisions, even as she noted the broader political tensions in the country. “We are united by a common cause, and we are not afraid at all,” she said.
This report is based on a monitored public feed and attributed to Dawn Home.
Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com
