An online youth-led campaign in India has surged in popularity in a matter of days, gathering around 23 million followers on Instagram in just four days, according to a Sky News report from the country. The speed of its growth has drawn particular attention because the campaign has already overtaken the social media following of the governing party itself.
By way of comparison, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has about 8.7 million followers on Instagram, a figure the new campaign has already passed several times over. Observers watching events on the ground said the movement appeared to be still picking up speed rather than losing momentum.
Behind the rapid rise in numbers is a deep sense of grievance among young people. Supporters say they feel they have not been heard or taken seriously, and they point to corruption and to a growing perception that the judiciary and other institutions are no longer working in the interests of ordinary citizens rather than the powerful.
Their demands include a call for judges not to take up official posts after they retire, a change supporters see as a way to loosen the ties between the courts and those in power. The wider anger, according to the report, is being driven by corruption, unemployment, inflation and the steadily rising cost of living.
Education has become a particular flashpoint in the movement. Many young people complain that the payback they expected from their studies has shrunk, and there is fury over leaks from examinations. The report said leaked papers had affected more than two million medical students, reinforcing a sense that the system is failing the very people it should be helping.
The scale of the discontent is magnified by India's demographics. Half of the country's population is under the age of 30, and around two-thirds are under 35, which means a campaign that captures the mood of young people can reach an enormous share of the nation in a very short space of time.
The authorities initially tried to block the websites linked to the campaign, but it has carried on regardless. Reporters drew comparisons with Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where youth resentment has helped topple governments in recent years, and suggested the Indian government will have to learn lessons from the unrest. Whether it grows into a sustained, nationwide movement, they said, remains to be seen.