THERE is a zing in the air. There is no denying that a changed mood is very much palpable. The silence that concealed the growing disquiet and restlessness has ultimately cracked. There can be no doubt that the almost forty day long struggle of the young people against the brazen irregularities in the conduct of centralised admission tests have acted as a trigger for this. In the process, the generational awakening has led to the meltdown of fear and the explosion of collective courage.

The most uncharacteristic move of the Modi regime had been forced. A government that asserted with vain glory that no resignations happen from them, was eventually reversed. The Union Minister for Education had to leave despite strong initial refusal. Jantar Mantar was the mere epicentre; it had spread like wildfire all across the country. After GenZ, now Gen Alpha has made their grand entry. Children in many parts of the country are coming out demanding safe spaces for their schools, out of harm’s way from crumbling roofs and cowsheds. Rajasthan Government, after their goons attacked CJP volunteers, has announced a financial package for improving school infrastructure.

The trouble for the Modi regime is that it has found itself a prisoner of its own echo-chamber of fake news and disinformation. The young people have started using technology, language and form before which the carefully crafted stonewall of a false image is appearing to be crumbling down. In the social media space, WhatsApp was the preferred platform for the Modi regime. The BJP IT Cell and its associates were in practice weaponising their fake narratives through unidirectional command for action. Trolling, gender abuse and of course islamophobia made up the preferred arsenal. They are struck by a double whammy. By recreating a false narrative, they have cut themselves off from the reality. They are unable to respond to the quick-fire use of Instagram delivered images, spoofs, music and memes. Any number of nocturnal reels by the Prime Minister is drawing nothing but ridicule.

The extent of desperation has been brought out by the mainstream newspaper, Indian Express. The union government sent one blocking order every sixty-eight seconds to pull down messages across social media. Between March and July 2026, Instagram received one lakh, Facebook eighty thousand, and YouTube fifteen thousand such orders, making a grand total of one lakh eighty-five thousand take down notices. This only underline that the Union government was losing the battle. Unable to match the creativity of the young people in replicating the reality which opened the flood gates of the surging movement, they had to block.

The reason is not difficult to find. The principal contradiction of the movement of the young people was to bring to the fore the question of accountability. That the Union government absolutely abhors replying to questions is once again brought to the fore by the current spat between the Indian foreign ministry officials and the US Ambassador. The revelation that Modi specifically asked for question-less press conferences is a key pointer. That the Union government/IT Cell narrative is in difficulty is also obvious with the downturn in TRP ratings of mainstream audio visual and circulation figures of print media. The vulnerability of the government is also laid bare in the bizarre ideas like the transportation of examination papers using IAF fleet and allotting one minister to each university for interaction with the students. They are amplifying their cluelessness.

Since media, both mainstream, as well as, social media space, has been a major weapon which enabled the hegemonic stranglehold of the ruling dispensation over the public mind, such a new development does underline the changing mood and landscape in the contemporary situation.