South Asian Protest Movements Challenge Governments

In Pakistan‑occupied Kashmir, residents have organised large‑scale protests demanding dignity, accountability and better governance. Demonstrators cite soaring electricity tariffs, inflation, wheat shortages and chronic political neglect as drivers of unrest, shifting the narrative away from the traditional Kashmir dispute toward everyday economic grievances.

In India, a youth‑led movement known as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has taken to the streets of New Delhi and other cities, demanding education‑sector reforms and the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Tens of thousands of students have faced a police crackdown, with lathi‑stick charges and arrests, while protesters cite high graduate unemployment and alleged corruption in the education system as their grievances.