Following a major anti-government protest in Delhi organised by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), during which police used tear gas and batons against tens of thousands of demonstrators, many young protesters responded not with despair but with humour, flooding Instagram with memes, "fit check" videos and sardonic reels documenting the crackdown. The protest, one of the largest against Narendra Modi's government in recent years, called for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over exam paper leaks and recruitment scandals; he has refused, accusing the opposition of exploiting students. The wave of online content highlights how a generation raised on social media blends political action with the visual language of memes and viral trends, rather than treating protest and everyday online life as separate spheres.

Videos included a woman reapplying lipstick in front of riot police, a "review" of tear gas rated like a restaurant, and outfit reveals that cut abruptly to scenes of protesters fleeing security forces. Authorities suspended mobile internet around the protest site, and by evening protesters said scores had been beaten, while police reported injuries to officers too. Academics such as Joyojeet Pal of the University of Michigan suggest the humour reflects a generational shift in how politics is experienced, with younger people folding activism into the same online spaces as memes and daily life, even as some, like 20-year-old protester "Chhavi", say the jokes were a way of coping with fear rather than a sign of indifference.