India, July 18 -- If you are looking at the impact of the hunger strike by Ladakh's engineer-turned-activist Sonam Wangchuk at the protests organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) only through the lens of electoral consequences and conventional impact, that could be a mistake. As Wangchuk's fast hits its 21st day, I have heard many negative appraisals frompolitical commentators - including from critics of the Narendra-Modi-led government - on how the protesters are naive, unstructured, andpolitical rookies. Analogies have been drawn with the Anna Hazare fast and the India AgainstCorruption (IAC) movement that birthed the Aam Aadmi Party. It has been pointed outthat the UPA-II government was a weak one, mired in scandals when that protest andhunger strike happened, and that the powerdifferential between those years and the Modi government will ensure that Wangchuk and his team of "cockroaches" are never called for adialogue by the Centre. It has also been argued that the on-ground footfall is proof of the giant gap between a heart emoji planted below an Instagram reel and an actual political supporter. And then, of course, there is the issue of the CJP being dubbed "AAP-Lite". And the main Opposition party, the Congress, staying mostly away from the protests, preferring their own student outreach has also been talked about. (Party spokesperson Pawan Khera did meet Wangchuk, but what the absence of Rahul Gandhi at the protest site tells you has been ceaselessly commented on and debated.) Some of these criticisms are accurate. But only if you are thinking about political impact in a strictly old-fashioned way. Not everything is about voting and numbers. An estimated 22% of India is between the ages of 18 and 29 - that's more than 300 million people. These are digital natives whose understanding of current affairs is via memes, reels, satire, and content creators. Someone who is 25 years old in 2026 would have been 10 years old in 2011 when the Anna-Hazare-Arvind Kejriwal movement was peaking. Their opinions today are not shaped by punditry. While mainstream politicians saw how the IAC movement (backed by, among others, the RSS) undermined even the vestiges of authority that the UPA had left, young people don't relate with these references. What they see is a man fasting for them. They see him losing nine kilograms of weight and doctors warning that organs can be endangered in a prolonged hunger strike. A 59-year-old man has become the face of a Gen-Z movement. And, in that most Gen Z of developments, he's now become a massive Instagram "trend". When the mostly self-declared "apolitical" class - movie stars, models, influencers, yoga instructors, fashionistas, among others - join students in releasing videos, signing petitions, sharing "stories", changing their DP, pledging support, making appeals to Wangchuk to end his fast, it's clear that they want to be on the right side of the trend. These are people who have typically never spoken out on any issue. These are also people who shy away from debate, controversy or anything polarising. As actor Sonakshi Sinha said while releasing her own video of support, she has never made such a statement before this moment. Clearly, the impulse is to be in sync with public sentiment. And that is not incorrect. Well before Wangchuk started his hunger strike, a CVoter survey revealed that nearly 67% of all respondents wanted the education minister to resign after the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam papers leaked. Within this, 58% of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) voters wanted him out. Sixty percent of the respondents wanted the National Testing Agency (NTA) to be dismantled. And let's never forget that in the 37 days between the cancellation of the NEET exam and the re-test, at least 12 students took their own lives. Subsequently, school kids and teenagers were able to expose the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s infirmities. Removing the education minister may not address the structural issues of entrenched corruption and incompetence, but even symbolic sackings have their own place in political accountability. The government's authority would not have been undermined and its credibility would have only been enhanced had it invited Wangchuk and team for a round of dialogue and talks. Instead, as Wangchuk jokes about "coming back as a ghost" if something were to happen to him, chances are that the police may intervene to either evict him or have him force-fed. That, by itself, is not unusual. The Delhi High Court has already paved the way for a government intervention by asking the Centre to ensure that Wangchuk's health is monitored and any medical intervention needed is made. We have seen similar interventions in other fasts. Social activist and organiser of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Medha Patkar, was removed in a midnight swoop by the Delhi Police who forcibly ended her eight-day fastfor the NBA. In 2016, Irom Sharmila wasforce-fed, ending the world's longest hunger strike that lasted 16 years. Sharmila had fasted in protest against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA. Yes, Sharmila's transition into politics was a failure. She got only 90 votes when she ran for office. But to end where I began, not everything is about immediateelectoral gains or losses. Sometimes, it is about sentiment. Wangchuk's fast captures the zeitgeist of the time, especially among the youth, who are directly impacted by examination frauds, lack of jobs and - on the more positive end - simple-minded idealism....