CJP protest: The youth movement India's Modi didn't see coming

That difference, he argues, changes the politics. Unlike earlier protests rooted in ideology or policy, this one questions the BJP's ability to govern. "They must recalibrate their strategy," Verma says.Many of those protesting, he adds, are not natural opponents of the BJP. They are "aspirational young Indians and their parents who see these exams as a path to upward mobility". Because the grievance is about governance rather than ideology, he argues, the BJP cannot easily rally its supporters or deploy the political counter-narratives that helped it confront earlier protest movements.ReutersAn injured teenage protester rests in her mother's lap at Jantar Mantar, a day after thousands marched on parliament over exam paper leaks in DelhiMonday's demonstrations appeared to reinforce that assessment. For the past two weeks, comparisons with the anti-corruption movement of 2011 had largely centred on the CJP's impressive online reach, while sceptics questioned whether digital momentum could spill onto the streets. Monday's turnout suggested it could.Joyojit Pal, a professor at the University of Michigan who studies technology and society, says social media has become "a tinderbox waiting to explode with the next thing", its speed and reach driven by emotion.Long-simmering frustration over the state's lack of accountability created the conditions for this "implosion", he told the BBC, adding that the architecture of social media makes such eruptions likely to recur.