From Subway Surfers and GTA to Rhiya Ahir: How Gen Z is rewriting protest playbook

A police chase made to resemble a game of Subway Surfers. Protesters playing badminton across police barricades. Batman, BR Ambedkar, and Mahatma Gandhi appearing at demonstrations. A young woman in a hoodie and cap pushing against a police van in the rain. Placards that read like Instagram memes rather than political slogans.

As protests over the alleged NEET paper leak continue in New Delhi, India’s Gen Z is changing not only the way protests unfold, but also the way they are seen, shared and remembered online.

One of the most widely shared moments from the protests came from Jantar Mantar, where a student filmed himself being chased by a policeman. The reel, captioned ‘Subway Surfer IRL at Jantar Mantar Protest’ and carrying the text ‘Bro thought he can outrun me,’ has crossed 54.8 million views. One image, however, has come to symbolise the movement: 27-year-old Mumbai-based model Rhiya Ahir bracing herself against a police van in a hoodie and cap.

Gen Z is often stereotyped as politically apathetic, chronically online and more interested in chasing viral trends than in civic engagement. These protests challenge that assumption. Critics have long dismissed online activism as ‘slacktivism,’ but the ongoing student demonstrations present a more complex picture. Rather than relying solely on speeches, slogans and marches, protesters are using reels, memes, trending audio, AI-generated content and pop-culture references. Their methods may differ from those of previous generations, but their demands for accountability, transparency and reform remain familiar.

Perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). What began as an online satirical joke has grown into a student movement capable of mobilising thousands on the ground and reaching millions on social media.

Even the placards have changed. In place of conventional political slogans, many carry the language and humour of social-media comment sections. One read: “Economy is so bad that even Dharmendra Pradhan isn’t resigning without another job in hand.”
Another featured Dora the Explorer asking: “Kya aapko kahi accountability dikh rahi hai?” (Can you see accountability anywhere?) Others mocked claims that the protesters were being paid. “Nobody funds me, I hate this government for free,” declared one sign. Another simply read: “It’s so bad even the privileged are here.”

Challenging the narrative
The protests have also become a contest over who gets to tell the story. Many demonstrators accuse sections of mainstream television media of misrepresenting the movement. They are using their own social-media accounts to challenge such coverage.

In one widely shared video, reporters ask protesters to give the full form of CBSE. After answering correctly, the students allege that the interaction was selectively framed to portray them as uninformed participants who were merely following an online trend. The criticism has extended beyond the protest sites. Comedian Vir Das has publicly questioned the way sections of the mainstream media have covered the demonstrations.

Batman, Ambedkar, and Gandhi
Cosplay has become another striking feature of the protests. Students have arrived dressed as Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar, Batman and Spider-Man.

One meme accompanying a photograph of a Gandhi lookalike read: “The country is so cooked even the Season 1 players have to come back.” Another, featuring Batman, joked: “You know it’s serious when Batman leaves Gotham behind.”

One viral video adopts an AI-generated interview format to imagine a playful exchange between a protester and police officers across a barricade. Questions such as “Who said ‘I love you’ first?” and “Who’s more protective?” receive tongue-in-cheek replies, recasting a tense stand-off as internet humour.

Other clips feature AI-generated songs using the voices of politicians, parody rap tracks and recordings of old speeches by Prime Minister Narendra Modi played through loudspeakers.

A debate within Gen Z
Gen Z is not merely documenting the protests. It is also editing and packaging them for the algorithm. Students film “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me) videos before heading to demonstrations. The approach, however, has divided young social-media users.

Influencers Adhila Nassrin and Noora questioned the trend of “GRWM to get detained” videos, arguing that a serious issue should not be trivialised to create content.

Others, including creators Yuktha Eshwarappa and Rena Fathima, have defended the trend, saying humour and virality help the message reach more people. The debate raises a broader question: does internet culture amplify a movement or dilute its seriousness?

At the protest sites, meanwhile, the experiments with humour and performance continue.

Videos show detained students dramatically sliding out of police vans and protesters doing yoga on the roads around Jantar Mantar. Some thank the police for the “free cardio” after being chased; others play badminton across barricades. The clips have travelled widely online.

Gaming culture has also found its place. GTA-style edits show protesters dodging batons and tear gas, while football’s Viking clap has been adapted into chants demanding resignations.

The movement draws upon tactics seen in other youth-led protests around the world.

From Nepal’s 2025 youth-led protests and Bangladesh’s student uprising in 2024 to Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya movement, Hong Kong’s “Be Water” protests and Ukraine’s Euromaidan movement, young people have used digital platforms to organise demonstrations and influence how those movements are understood.

The political circumstances and demands behind these movements differ considerably. What connects them is the use of digital media not simply to record events, but to mobilise supporters, contest established narratives and maintain momentum. India’s latest student protests appear to be following that playbook, with a viral reel sometimes carrying a political message farther and faster than a speech.