Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke a platform viewership record on Instagram by securing more than 300 million views on a selfie video within 24 hours, amid nationwide student demonstrations opposing his government. The 75-year-old leader published two short clips late Thursday and Friday as protests over the cancelled NEET medical entrance exam swept the country, choosing the video format favored by the young demographic driving the unrest.
The record-breaking digital push comes as student organizer Abhijeet Dipke leads the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP. Founded on May 16, the movement emerged after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared unemployed youth to parasites and cockroaches during a court hearing. The organization has since amassed more than 20 million followers across social media platforms, organizing nationwide marches to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Government Response and Digital Restrictions
Modi’s administration has met the mounting youth protests with a mix of direct public outreach and strict digital censorship. Authorities ordered GitHub to block Jack Dorsey’s BitChat messaging app after CJP organizers adopted the platform to bypass restrictions on mainstream communication channels. India remains Instagram’s largest market, boasting roughly 480 million users. Concurrently, the Indian government summoned Meta executives to address ad moderation failures and ordered the platform to remove child safety violations.
The prime minister’s reliance on short-form video represents a sharp departure from his traditional communication strategy. Modi, who maintains more than 100 million Instagram followers, has historically relied on scripted public appearances and formal addresses. Biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told Bloomberg that the prime minister appeared to be at his wits’ end regarding the sustained protests, while government representatives characterized the videos as a lighthearted effort to connect with younger citizens.
The Stakes of India’s Digital Opposition
The massive viewership figures highlight the sheer scale of India’s active social media audience, even as regulatory bodies tighten their grip on digital infrastructure. The CJP continues to organize millions of supporters despite platform crackdowns, indicating that traditional political messaging and record-breaking selfie videos may not blunt the momentum of a decentralized digital opposition.
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