Dhruv Rathee does not lead a political party or run a conventional news organization. Yet during India's 2024 general election, the German-based Indian Youtuber became one of the most recognizable critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaching audiences that opposition politicians struggled to attract.
His rise marked a change in Indian political communication. While much of the country's Hindi-language television news was accused of favoring Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rathee built an alternative audience through videos combining political commentary and straightforward Hindi explanations.
Born in Haryana in 1994, Rathee moved to Germany to study engineering. He initially admired Modi and supported his anticorruption promises. His political position changed as he grew disillusioned with the government's conduct and increasingly partisan television coverage.
His first explicitly political video, released in September 2016, examined the BJP's social media machinery and allegations of online misinformation. It began as a relatively small operation but eventually developed into a professional production involving researchers and editors.
Rathee's defining intervention came in February 2024 with a video titled “Is India Becoming a Dictatorship?”
The 29-minute production examined allegations that the Modi government was weakening democratic institutions, using investigative agencies against political opponents and undermining media independence.
It attracted millions of views within days. By April, Reuters reported that the video had exceeded 27 million views. Opposition supporters circulated his productions through Whatsapp groups, while some political organizations screened them publicly.
The scale was extraordinary. By May 2024, Rathee had more than 20 million Youtube subscribers, considerably exceeding the audiences of the BJP's and Congress's official channels.
His videos helped bring arguments about democratic backsliding into popular political conversation. Modi's government, however, rejected accusations that it was systematically suppressing dissent.
The BJP subsequently lost its single-party parliamentary majority, falling from 303 seats in 2019 to 240 in 2024. Modi nevertheless secured a third term through the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Did Rathee influence that outcome? His reach was undeniable. A post-election commentary in The Times of India estimated that his videos received approximately 250 million views during the election period.
But views are not votes. There is no reliable evidence establishing how many voters changed their preferences because of Rathee. His contribution was primarily to the information environment, making criticism of Modi accessible, repeatable and shareable, particularly among younger Hindi-speaking audiences.
Rathee describes himself as politically independent rather than affiliated with Congress or another opposition party.
His stated commitments include secularism, rationality, democratic accountability, civil liberties and social inclusion. These positions place much of his political commentary in opposition to the BJP's Hindu-nationalist agenda.
His critics accuse him of selectively presenting information, exaggerating government failures and giving opposition politicians comparatively favorable treatment. Rathee rejects allegations that he operates on behalf of opposition parties.
His political significance also lies in his format. Unlike traditional television debates, his videos are tightly scripted, heavily edited and structured around a central argument.
The result is a distinctive mixture of advocacy and political commentary. It can make complicated subjects understandable, but it also means his work should not automatically be treated as neutral reporting.
Rathee's appeal in Bangladesh has a different political context.
His criticism of Modi attracts audiences skeptical of India's regional policies, particularly New Delhi's longstanding relationship with former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
But Rathee has also criticized Hasina herself.
On July 25, 2024, during Bangladesh's student-led uprising, he published Bangladesh is Burning!, examining the government-job quota controversy, youth unemployment, state repression and accusations of authoritarianism against Hasina.
The video has accumulated approximately 27 million views.
His willingness to criticize both Modi and Hasina helps explain why his commentary resonates with some Bangladeshis, although there is no reliable audience survey measuring his popularity in Bangladesh.
His Bangladesh coverage has not been uniformly critical. An older video praising Bangladesh's development resurfaced during the 2024 uprising, prompting BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla to attack Rathee. Rathee responded that the clip was several years old.
On December 26, 2025, he released Why Bangladesh is Having Anti-India Protests?, examining tensions between the neighboring countries. The video has received nearly eight million views.
At least three substantial Bangladesh-focused videos can therefore be identified, alongside his separate treatment of the 1971 Liberation War. An exhaustive, verified count of every Bangladesh-related upload is not available, particularly across his main, Shorts and multilingual channels.
Rathee's latest public appearance introduces another dimension to his influence.
According to Aaj Tak, he arrived in Bengaluru ahead of an October 8 protest organized by the Cockroach Janata Party against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. He confirmed his participation through a video posted on X.
The development comes as anti-government protests have been gradually gathering momentum in different parts of India, driven by grievances over electoral procedures, unemployment, economic pressures and concerns about democratic institutions.
Although these protests represent different movements rather than a unified opposition campaign, they reflect growing pockets of public discontent with the Modi government.
Rathee's presence could add considerable visibility to this emerging protest landscape. With millions of followers, particularly among younger Indians, his participation has the potential to draw wider attention to demonstrations that might otherwise remain confined to local political circles.
The development is particularly significant because Rathee's political interventions have largely been delivered remotely from Germany. Joining a public protest in India brings his digital advocacy into direct contact with street-level political mobilization.
It also changes the nature of his public role. A creator who has insisted on independence from political parties is now participating physically in a political campaign, although that does not establish any formal party affiliation.
His influence, however, should not be confused with electoral authority. Rathee has demonstrated an ability to attract enormous audiences and challenge government narratives. Whether his physical presence can increase protest participation, sustain political mobilization or influence voting behavior remains uncertain.
His rise nevertheless illustrates a broader transformation in Indian politics. Political commentary and public mobilization no longer depend exclusively on television networks, newspaper organizations or political parties.
A single creator, backed by a professional production team and a vast digital audience, can shape political conversations and potentially amplify movements beyond their immediate geographical reach.
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