India, July 26 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopping for a jhalmuri break during an election campaign in West Bengal was once the kind of carefully crafted image that would dominate India's online discourse. For years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoyed an almost unchallenged advantage on the internet, particularly on X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp, where critics often referred to its vast ecosystem as "WhatsApp University."

The NEET protest, however, appears to have caught the ruling establishment off guard.

Sweeping protests took over streets of major Indian cities. Photo: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

What the government initially dismissed as a fringe agitation evolved into a month-long nationwide movement, driven largely by Insta...