New Delhi, July 30 -- On the afternoon of 25 July, as news of Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union education minister broke on the internet, a profusion of reels and memes celebrating the "victory" of India's biggest "Gen Z protest", led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began to flood social media platforms. Hours later, video clips showing key members of the CJP celebrating with their supporters also started circulating online.

A week later, the optics continue to be scrutinized, defended, and criticized. But the fact remains that the CJP had never claimed to follow any rulebook of political protests (even though two of their leaders, Abhijeet Dipke and Saurav Das, have worked with the Aam Aadmi Party in the past). Their non-vio...