Indian developer turns protests into online game

As frustrations grow in India over the revision of electoral rolls, which removed around 130 million names, causing nationwide protests. An Indian developer took that frustration and turned the protests into an online game. 

Indian developer Suraj Kushwah created “Jantar Mantar Chalo,” a game inspired by the ongoing protests, where players can either lead protests or play as the police to stop them.

The game says players can either be “Andolankari” by walking into people to grow their “Kafila” and reach Jantar Mantar or the “Dilli Police,” whose goal is to break groups of protesters and lift leaders into the bus. Protesters work great in numbers and can break free from the police by clicking away.

Indian developer turns protests into online game

Suraj told the outlet, “Many people think this is a political game, but it’s a youth frustration, as like my personal frustration.” The developer from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh added, “The game is not just showing the protest; it is also showing the potholes on the road and the litter near trashes, and it is also showing, the current state of the state and country.”

Protests flooded India over the recent purge of electoral rolls by authorities who deleted nearly 130 million names from the rolls to remove “ineligible voters.” A youth movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged earlier this year and also participated in the ongoing protests.

Protesting groups claim that the mass removal of names targeted poor and homeless people as well as ethnic minorities who won’t vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Indian authorities locked down Delhi and also arrested several leaders from the party. The crackdown by authorities turned the protests into riots as protesters clashed with the police, causing injuries.

In response, the UN called on the Indian government to stop using “excessive force” against the protesters, citing that many demonstrators are sustaining injuries and being subjected to ill-treatment.