A group of protesters gathered at Norman Bethune Square in Montreal Saturday to stand in support of the young people of India who are experiencing what activists call an “increase in the steady loss of democracy” leading to “unimaginable violence.”
The “Cockroach” youth movement has intensified in India since election authorities began revising voter lists last year, removing more than 130 million voters.
Protests have grown to include India’s opposition parties and its particpants are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission have denied allegations of manipulation, saying the move is needed to remove duplicate and ineligible names.
Larger protests began about a month ago related to repeated paper leaks, administrative errors and cheating scandals at the nation’s colleges.
Violence ensued over the weekend as thousands of protesters were detained in a police crackdown.
“In my opinion, they are creating a beginning stage of fascism. They are basically creating an atmosphere of fear. People cannot speak, people cannot protest, people cannot demand their justice,” Abid Khan told Global News at the solidarity protest in Montreal.
Back in May, India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant compared India’s youth to cockroaches saying they turn to social media to attack institutions without ever doing anything.
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Now the nation’s youth are working to prove they are anything but, but the name stuck.
“A simple joke became a revolution,” Khan said.
Rundranil Raha told Global News he grew up in India around the time the BJP came to power in 2014.
He said he was taught that India was an inclusive country that accepted all people, but that ideology has been ripped to shreds.
He said India’s government is now “sowing the seeds of hatred that aims to divide the country.”
He said women, LGBTQ2 people and ethnic and religious minorities are carrying the brunt of the burden.
“If I am in India, I’m a male, I am a middle caste and I am Hindu so I wouldn’t have any problem if I kept my mouth shut,” Raha said. “If I am speaking out, I am afraid that I just might be the next target of this surveillance heavy rights stampeding regime.”
But Canada’s supporters of the movement are spanning further than just the Indian diaspora.
“As a Pakistani, I feel like it is my duty to also provide cross-solidarity because what happens in India does affect the rest of the region,” Zahra Haider told Global News.
Rahul Varma, another attendee of the Montreal protest, told Global News he fears what is happening in India is just one example of the rise of nationalism all across the world.
“It is not anymore a problem of a particular country,” he said.
But as solidarity is growing across Canada, the federal government is seeking to deepen its trade ties with India.
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is in India this week as the two countries look to reach a free-trade agreement by the end of the year.
Varma said he is in support of Canada advancing its relationship with India, but only if human rights are at the forefront.
“The Canadian government has not made a significant statement against the Indian state to stop any of those activities,” he said.
Global News reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
– With files from Phil Carpenter, The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
There is no revolution. There are a bunch of west funded nefarious jobless people who have politicized an issue based on lies. And they have been arrested for breaking the law.
And PM Modi remains our respected PM. So stoo your propaganda. And leave India alone. Fix your own country. Islamists praying on streets of Montreal want to impose sharia. Wake up.
News reporter should have explained that why the Indian government took this action? Who are the people behind
the Cockroach party.Who are the people trying to dismantle the government.
They don’t need to protest about what’s happening in India. We’re losing our own democracy and livelihoods right here to liberal ideologies.
yawn. free free Canada of liberals
what’s next? a straight liberal? 🤣🤣🤣
I’m actually glad to read from a gay conservative. It shows that even the people which the liberals try to appeal to have come to see the problem that liberal social policies invite. You can’t bring in people that hate whites, hate LGBT, hate men, hate women, rape children and kill people over their religion, and think that is going to somehow fix itself. Don’t expect us to “adapt” or accept that.
Im a gay conservative.
I fear one day liberal policies will result in sharia law being practiced in the west. Depending on where it starts, I could could be executed for my sexuality if the western pushback is slow. Already in Europe there are more and more cases each year of deadly Islamic attacks targeting the LGBT, locally here in Vancouver Islamic extremists are using grindr to lure gay men into an ambush to assault and rob them.
I fear that people who vote liberal will inadvertently be responsible for the mass culling of the west. Useful idiots are going to get me killed…
ask those cockroach(s) to come to Canada.. al lof them .. give them residency.. and they you relaize how canada is beuityFOOL
@Sanjay. 741 am. Respectfully, what you call the “noise of democracy” is Modi intimidating journalists, harassing opposition figures, and practicing militant Hindu supremacy. Modi is a grave threat to India’s democracy. Anything one reads from the Economist to policy journals provide evidence that he needs to go.
India stands strong with Modi. In a country of 1.4 billion democracy there will always be some opposition. It is noise of democracy. The arrest were because the protesters tried to breach to high security zone and their intent was to get arrested to attract worlwide attention. In a large majority of people have full faith in government.
These Pakis and Khalistanis are a joke they are Crème de la crème of filth
my apologies 😅 hahaha
… 130 million.
Sorry for the typo.
@Hey Ben
Now you’ve done it! Now we won’t hear the end of it from him.
you give me hope reading your comments. These are the true canadian values I was raised with, and it’s great to see you promote them. Godspeed.
@Kris 705 pm. Respectfully, protests in other countries work. For example, from what I’ve read, protests against apartheid in South Africa were very influential in getting rid of the system then in place.
Why are they in the safety of Canada? Go to india and protest.
It is ridiculous to hv protests in Canada as it hardly makes a difference to what goes on in India. Indians in India need to resolve issues and better positioned to serve the interests of India. Indians elect their leaders and so can dispose of their leaders. Similar protests by other communities makes no sense.
@Tired Mom. With respect, I’m so tired of the genocide of Palestinians by Israel. I’m also so tired of the antisemetism in this country which is at record levels. I’m also very tired of people thinking that events in other countries don’t affect them. They do. Look south.
@Raj 625pm. Respectfully, India is
and has actively interfered in our affairs-which is well documented. These people who are demonstrating are doing so in solidarity with what is right. One would hardly call it interfering. Also Modi is just another copy of Trump-trying to eliminate people from the voter rolls which is undemocratic.
I’m so exhausted with the protesting of other countries in Canada.
power to the people. power to the ones who strive for a better future for ALL. Abandon the outdated caste system beliefs, abandon the religious-based and ethno-nationalism – its f****** cringe and absolutely paleolithic to say the least. No man nor woman is born greater than another, and each single one deserve an opportunity to thrive and prosper based on their hard work and merit – not in anyway limited by their ‘caste’, not their religion, not their ethnicity/cultural background. You’d think this would be obvious in the modern age, but I guess not. Power to the people.
What ever happened to the dead Khalistani? When did the leftist morons in Canada stop whining about that? RIP Hardick Singh Nigeria
Why are these so-called Canadian citizens interfering in another country’s internal affairs? One them even admits that he’s Pakistani. Absolute clowns
““As a Pakistani, I feel like it is my duty to also provide cross-solidarity because what happens in India does affect the rest of the region,” Zahra Haider”
LOL. Pakistan is an Islamist military dictatorship but this clown is going to save India?
Cockroaches is accurate as a description at least
Resign? How about you leftist clowns resign from all the seats you hold since you dont believe the results of the election? Low IQ idiots
Let me guess, the morons who think that Trump’s allegations of election fraud in 2020 are complete nonsense are in full support of the fake election fraud in India. It’s like how the Khalistanis are nowhere to be found in the Alberta and Quebec separatismn