New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- I can say with absolute truth that until July of this year, I have never ever seen anyone in the world running from the cops in selfie mode. That short, hilarious reel has stayed in my head as a hallmark of the Cockroach Janta Party protests. My schadenfreude flourished while watching so many puffy-chested patriarchs floundering in their response to the protests. It is also entertaining to have the protests poke holes in my conception of myself as a politically engaged person.

When I watched the video of the Mumbai students in the backseat of a police car making faces and sniggering at the ponderous cop in the front seat threatening to plant drugs on them and ruin their lives, I could only laugh at myself. I was rem...