Street protests in India this year are likely to be higher than at any time in the past decade, the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) Project has said, as dissent mounts against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and Gen Z activists pour onto the streets.
Despite tens of thousands of security personnel deployed to stop them, youth protesters in India scaled barricades last week, chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with police officers trying to drag them away.
Analysts say the youth protests, and growing support for the opposition, form the worst crisis for Modi since he came to power in 2014, with people under 30 making up nearly one quarter of the country's 1 billion voters. But his government remains stable and the next general election is not due until 2029.
The recent protests in the capital Delhi and elsewhere were focused on demands that Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar resign over a voter roll revision that activists and opposition parties say favours the BJP and has helped it win several recent state elections. The ruling BJP, the government and the Election Commission deny the accusations.
But the demonstrations are also reflecting something larger: growing anger at Modi for failing to deliver jobs to millions of unemployed youth in his 12 years in power despite the surge in headline economic growth.
Other issues have also fed into the anti-establishment mood, including leaks of question papers in key examinations for jobs and education, the high number of crimes against women and the rise of billionaire businessmen alleged to have close links to Modi.
Unemployment remains at slightly above 5%, according to government data. Unemployment among the 367 million people aged 15-29 stood at 9.9% in 2025. Research by Azim Premji University found unemployment among graduates aged 15-25 was nearly 40%.
In May, unrest erupted when the government invalidated examinations for national medical colleges after test papers were leaked.
The protests have been energised by the emergence of the first nationally resonant youth-led movement of the Modi era, the Cockroach Janta Party, which grew from online satire into a nationwide campaign this June after India's chief justice likened the unemployed to "cockroaches".