Shobhaa De | When India’s Pest Control Failed To Kill Desi Roaches

The home-grown desi cockroach is a unique insect. Try as you will, but you cannot squash it under the sturdiest boot. It springs back up and multiplies. Cockroaches are between 125 and 140 million years old. They come in 7,000 species. The Indian cockroach is the smartest/wiliest of the lot and is playing a starring role these days. Imagine! An insect has boldly taken on the mightiest in the land. And is winning. An army of cockroaches is crawling across India. As the Indian government discovered during this dramatic week, when it was caught on the wrong foot by an unstoppable surge of youth power, propelled by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Not a single authoritarian agency could stop Gen Z from being seen, heard, acknowledged, admired and respected. These kids did what adults couldn’t -- they shook up the smug, sinister network of the high and mighty, and sent then scrambling for cover. Shame on those who thought they could (mis)use state machinery to intimidate, terrorise and dabaao the crowd. The courageous kids used their dimaag and daring to show the leaders they meant business.

The complacent government was taken completely off-guard by a hunger strike that galvanised the youth into action. Autocratic babus planned and orchestrated the bully’s response like it was a war strategy designed to counter an enemy encroaching on Indian territory. Or like a masterplan to foil a full-blown terror attack. Come on… are children that scary?

Desh ke bachchey… Salute!

A few points worth noting:

*Sending sadistic cops in plainclothes, hiding behind masks, minus name tags, but ready with lathis and teargas, is not efficiency. It’s cowardice. More Trump and ICE than democracy.

*For the Prime Minister to drive past the protesters with his impressive convoy without pausing to look at -- forget address the protesters -- reeks of fear and demonstrates weak leadership that conveniently prefers to look the other way.

*To orchestrate a riot-like situation with readily available stones and empty ambulances driving around to generate panic is a nasty despotic tactic designed to demoralise kids who had left their homes armed with nothing more lethal than placards and slogans.

*Disseminating false propaganda and detaining students from railway stations is something even Stalin would have avoided.

*Shutting down 16 Metro stations in Delhi showed fear. Not confidence. Even that didn’t stop the crowds from converging and bravely putting up a fight.

*What made CJI Surya Kant, originator of the “cockroach” putdown, imperiously say “Don’t waste our time” to a petitioner seeking an urgent listing of police excesses via submitted videos? What an unfortunate, unnecessary snub!

*Rahul Gandhi was as usual wasting time demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who seems to have Araldite stuck on his kursi. Worse, Rahul Baba sweetly demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi… Bachchey: when has our great PM ever felt the need to apologise?

*Ditto for Sonam Wangchuk’s pre-conditions to end his fast: “If

key demands are met”. Bro… if those demands were to be met, all this high drama wouldn’t happen in the first place.

(Late Thursday night, Sonam Wangchuk finally ended his 26-day fast at Gurgaon’s Medanta Hospital, in the presence of Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, his wife and CJP leaders.)

*Police brutality against unarmed protesters is being passed off as a defensive response. The police shamelessly trot out the number of cops injured; while clips of bleeding kids go viral. The CPRF called in for what? These are young, angry, frustrated, disillusioned kids speaking up for a better future; not hardened criminals or terrorists. Such measures to control the very students affected by the Neet scandal! Where were these super-efficient security agencies during the leaks? Guarding the netas who made money from the scandal?

*In Mumbai, cops were digitally tracking protesters, targeting those seen as trouble-makers. Never before have cops barged into citizen’s homes to order youngsters to stay away from Shivaji Park. Social media handles were closely monitored before picking up kids randomly, demanding they share live locations. Despite all these scare tactics, 2,500 youth packed Dadar’s streets and others turned up in good numbers at Chembur, Juhu, Colaba and Powai.

*Rhiya Ahir, a 27-year-old model, became the face of the Mumbai agitation, when she spontaneously did a repeat of the incredibly courageous act of a lone protester who stood in front of a tank during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

“I couldn’t help myself”, said Rhiya (admiringly dubbed a “baddie”), as she blocked a police van full of students chanting slogans. She refused to budge till the police released the protesters, saying she couldn’t just stand by and “do nothing”.

*Well, Rhiya… thousands of mega-celebrities did “nothing”, said nothing. Their silence upset many. But let’s be honest: are they in a position to speak up without fear of losing out on lucrative commercial deals? Can cricketers speak when Jay Shah controls their purse strings? Can superstars talk when their movies are targeted? Homes raided? False cases filed? Z-category security removed? Movie releases stopped?

Businessfolks and industrialists are India’s biggest darpoks. Chaploosi comes naturally to them. If they don’t suck up to the party in power -- out go their billion-dollar contracts! Maun vrat in a crisis has always been the mantra of this spineless lot.

*Health minister J.P. Nadda is the best side-stepper of all! He can walk away with the Side-Stepper of the Year Trophy. Instead of addressing the main issue (Neet), he is focusing on Rahul Gandhi’s remarks (“How the discussion will happen can’t be decided by the government alone…”). No? Then by…?

*A CJP spokesperson said a “A Janata Darbar is being held at Jantar Mantar.” That’s called wishful thinking! “The protesters will not be meeting anybody behind closed doors”, they grandly state. But for that to happen, someone (Errrr… Amit Shah?) has to be brave enough to show up at Jantar Mantar.

Think of the optics and the headlines!

*Till then, every citizen who cares about the future of India is free to pitch in -- choose your weapons and battle gear! You don’t have to be an activist, preacher, teacher or a known personality.

*India is waiting impatiently for a genuine “Mann ki Baat”. What nobody wants at this critical stage is “Monkey Baat”.

At the moment, the cockroaches are wielding more power than AK-47s.

*In Naseeruddin Shah’s words: “Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega”.

*When last checked, India was still calling itself a democracy!