Aparna Sen backs youth-led CJP protest, slams violence against unarmed students

Veteran filmmaker Aparna Sen has expressed solidarity with students taking part in Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) youth-led protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, saying they gave her hope and showed her the meaning of democratic dissent.In a video message shared on Instagram, Sen said she was deeply moved by the students and had wept after seeing what she described as their peaceful and constitutional protest. She also criticised the way the students were allegedly beaten and said the country must stand with them.In her message, Sen said, "My name is Aparna Sen. I just want to say that last night I learnt from our students the meaning of democratic dissent. I learnt from them how to believe in the constitution and work according to it. I had become like many of us, so de-moralised, so depressed, so de-spirited, thinking what is the use of protesting against anything. What is the use of asking for anything that we deem as democratic right"She added, "These students gave me a glimmer of hope. They showed me it can be done. They believed in the democratic way, they protested peacefully, non violently, totally in accordance with the constitution and believed that they would be heard. "This was so moving that I all of last night, I just wept. I thought to myself how brave, how resilient, how courageous these children are! What a lesson we can learn from them. All I could think was blessing them with all my heart and saying 'shabaash (bravo)!' We can learn from you, thank you," Sen concluded.In the caption accompanying the post, Sen wrote, "20th July was an unforgettable night! Our children showed us the way when we had become blas. Today I feel outraged at the way those unarmed kids were beaten up! How dare they! How dare they hurt the future of our nation (sic)?" "Some of those kids will be our future leaders, doctors, scientists, educators and artists! And we beat them up instead of nurturing them! This is unacceptable! The nation must stand in solidarity with them. It is now or never (sic)," she added.Recently, actor Salman Khan also voiced his support for the students participating in Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.While the 60-year-old did not explicitly mention the group's name in his social media post, he praised the students for peacefully demanding a better education system.Apart from Salman, actor Prakash Raj praised activist Sonam Wangchuk after the latter broke his 26-day fast. Prakash Raj also questioned why Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was still being delayed.- EndsPublished By: Anurag BohraPublished On: Jul 24, 2026 22:01 IST