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Dodge the cops, reach the protest: India's latest online political game goes viral

NEW DELHI, ⁠Oct 16 (Reuters) - A web-based multiplayer game in which players dodge police and detention on their ⁠way to a protest site in New Delhi has gone viral, as young Indians use ‌satire and humour to respond to police actions.

The Star MalaysiaTora Agarwala, Aftab Ahmed2026-10-16 15:40查看原文 ↗

Protestors shout slogans from a police bus after being detained during a flag rally seeking the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

As youth-led protests over jobs, exam paper leaks and voter roll revisions spread across India, a growing crop of online games is transforming political grievances into shareable digital content.

The trend shows a generation raised on Instagram is expressing dissent in ways that differ sharply from the ⁠political communication style of Prime Minister Narendra ⁠Modi.

One such game, 'Jantar Mantar Chalo', was developed by 27-year-old IT professional Suraj Kushwah, who has described it ⁠as "dark ‌humour".

The game satirises the difficulties protesters face in reaching Jantar Mantar, a main protest site in the capital, amid police blockades, road closures and public transport suspensions. Players can build akafila, ⁠or procession, evade checkpoints and stage a demonstration, or switch sides and deploy batons and tear ‌gas to disperse crowds.

"Whatever news was coming was kind of like a circus," Kushwah said.

"People were ⁠trying to reach Jantar Mantar. And they were getting detained. And I imagined it as a 3D game."

Kushwah said at least 2,000 people had been playing the game at any point in time since its release on October 14.

Another game casts ⁠firebrand left-wing activist Neha Bora as the protagonist of a retro 8-bit-style platformreminiscent of classic arcade games.

"We as artists believe that satire is the most powerful way to talk about things," said 30-year-old Anav Nayar, who co-developed the game with his brother, Akshay.

The protests were triggered by ⁠the "cockroach"youth movement, which also started as a joke online.

The games draw inspiration from protests against the Election Commission's voter roll revision exercise, which opposition parties and activists say has disenfranchised 130 million eligible voters and favoured Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Election Commission and BJP deny the allegations.

Gen Z's style of expression poses an unusual challenge for Modi. After the "cockroach" movement forced the resignation ofModi's ⁠education minister in July, he intensified outreach to younger Indians through self-shot Instagram videos.

But analysts say Modi's outreach might not be enough.

"The BJP has long enough enjoyed its dominance ‌of controlling the narrative online and on the ground, but this time the younger generation has countered them everywhere," said Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst.

(Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; editing by Praveen Menon and Xevi Fontdegloria)

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2026年10月16日，在印度新德里，抗议者在举行要求印度首席选举专员贾内什·库马尔辞职的旗帜集会期间被拘留，他们在警车上高喊口号。路透社/阿德南·阿比迪

新德里，10 月 16 日（路透社）——一款基于网络的多人游戏在网络上爆红，玩家在前往新德里抗议地点的途中躲避警察和拘留，年轻的印度人用讽刺和幽默的方式回应警察的行为。

随着印度各地爆发由青年主导的、关于就业、试卷泄露和选民名册修订的抗议活动，越来越多的网络游戏正在将政治不满转化为可分享的数字内容。

这一趋势表明，在 Instagram 上成长起来的一代人表达异议的方式与印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪的政治沟通风格截然不同。

其中一款名为“Jantar Mantar Chalo”的游戏是由27岁的IT专业人士Suraj Kushwah开发的，他将其描述为“黑色幽默”。

这款游戏讽刺了抗议者在首都主要抗议地点简塔·曼塔天文台面临重重困难的情景，包括警方封锁道路、道路封闭和公共交通停运。玩家可以组织游行队伍（akafila），绕过检查站举行示威活动，或者转换阵营，使用警棍和催泪瓦斯驱散人群。

“无论传来什么消息，都像是一场马戏表演，”库什瓦说。