The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest resulted in something historic. A Cabinet Minister in the Modi government resigned for the first time since 2014. Does this translate into accountability? Maybe. However, the protest has undoubtedly yielded some tangible outcomes.
It united people against injustice. The protest transcended many of the social barriers that divide India and challenged years of efforts to polarise our society. People of different religions stood together. Able-bodied individuals helped persons with disabilities feel included. People cheered as members of the transgender community joined the protest. Young and old stood united. Even some of the most committed andh-bhakts (blind devotees) seemed to question the narrative they had accepted for the past 12 years.
But the crucial question remains: What next?
Normalisation: why Indians stopped reacting to injustice and how CJP reversed it
A key reason many Indians appear to have stopped responding to injustice is not that they have become inherently cruel. Rather, injustice has become normalised through repeated exposure. When people witness one violation after another, whether discrimination, institutional failures, corruption, hate, or preventable deaths, without meaningful accountability, each incident gradually raises the threshold of what society considers unacceptable. What once provoked widespread outrage becomes routine.
This process mirrors what Václav Havel described as "living within a lie." People do not necessarily have to believe that everything is right; they simply adapt to living with it. Over time, conformity becomes a survival strategy. Speaking out feels risky, ineffective, or someone else's responsibility, while remaining silent appears easier and more practical. As a result, obedience and inaction become habitual rather than consciously chosen.
Propaganda and ideological narratives reinforce this adaptation by offering convenient explanations, distracting attention, or portraying dissent as unnecessary or dangerous. At the same time, an endless cycle of crises creates a sense of fatigue and helplessness. Constant exposure to injustice dulls moral sensitivity, making extraordinary acts of injustice seem ordinary.
The recent protest managed to undo years of this normalisation by allowing people not just to feel angry but to belong to a space where that anger could be expressed. A society that had lost its capacity for collective outrage found its voice again. Strength was found in numbers, turning powerless people into fearless citizens and helping them realise their role in democracy, which is not just improving their own lives but also the lives of those around them.
This collective courage ultimately led to the resignation of the Union Minister for Education. But does that guarantee change?
