‘Cockroach’ protests stripped Modi’s carefully crafted image, Arundhati Roy tells Al Jazeera

Indian author and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy has said the youth-led “Cockroach” protests have undermined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s carefully constructed public image, Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan about India’s political climate, the ongoing protests, allegations of electoral irregularities and the country’s democracy, Roy said the movement had exposed growing discontent among young Indians.

The protests are largely associated with the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a grassroots movement that emerged after young people embraced the “cockroach” label as a form of political satire.

Roy said the movement’s use of humour, social media and Instagram reels helped break through Modi’s carefully managed political image, which she said had been reinforced by corporate-owned news channels and the BJP’s influence over social media.

“It stripped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s very carefully confected image,” Roy said.

She argued that the protests were the result of several grievances converging, including the BJP’s failure to secure a full majority in the 2024 general election, allegations surrounding elections, exam paper leaks and widespread unemployment.

Roy rejected the suggestion that Modi and the BJP had failed to understand social media, noting that the party had been among the earliest political forces to use the platforms extensively.

According to Roy, the current political discontent extends beyond the protests. She alleged that India’s electoral system has faced serious problems, including the exclusion of voters and restrictions involving electoral data, particularly affecting minority and BJP-unfriendly voters.

Roy also criticised claims that India is an economic success story, arguing that the country remains marked by widespread poverty despite the wealth accumulated by major industrialists.

“Modern India is a very rich country full of very, very, very poor people,” she said.

On India’s democratic credentials, Roy argued that elections alone cannot establish the strength of a democracy, pointing to the importance of constitutional safeguards, independent institutions and checks and balances.

She also criticised changes to the process of selecting India’s chief election commissioner, saying opposition parties and the chief justice previously had a role in the process.

Despite her criticism, Roy said she remained hopeful about the possibility of political change in India.

“I do feel that something is boiling just under the surface. Something is going to happen,” she said, adding that the “cockroach” movement had put people associated with the Modi government on notice.

Roy said she was more optimistic about the possibility of change than she had been three months earlier, while acknowledging uncertainty over how the political situation would develop.