Leaked exams, dashed dreams: Why India’s ‘cockroach’ youth turned on Modi

Ashok remembers, as a child, watching his farmer parents struggle to make ends meet – and how things changed after Modi became prime minister in 2014. His government expanded benefits like cheap cooking gas and direct farm subsidies, giving Ashok and his younger brother Abhishek hope for a better future. Their parents rewarded Modi with votes in three elections.

But last week, 25-year-old Ashok found himself demonstrating against Modi next to Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century astronomical...