Are we repeating India’s mistakes?

If Nepal is to continue enforcing silence and digital intimidation, the final reckoning will come from the streets.

On Wednesday morning, in an interaction with a closed group of Nepali civil society members, Indian social activist Harsh Mander said that the ‘Citadel of fear’ in India’s socio-political landscape has been dismantled, but the ‘citadel of hate’ still stands. Mander was reflecting on the seismic impact of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in July. After Chief Justice of India Surya Kant labelled unemployed youth as ‘cockroaches’ on May 15, the CJP reclaimed the slur to forge a satirical, digitally organised group against the system. What began as an online campaign quickly transformed into a mass, leaderless uprising at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, driven by fury over leaks in the NEET-UG medical entrance exams and a broader collapse of public trust.