India’s Cockroach movement: Protesters bypass internet blackout with Bluetooth

When the Kokoro Janata Party called for their second major pr Oteston October 10th the governor The government responded with a massive crackdown. Protesters were immediately detained. tained as they tried to reach Jan Tar Mantar, the site of the demonstration, amid a total shutdown in the area; the internet was blocked within a four-kilometer radius fighting back the police. Some demonstrators managed to escape. So they un unleashed the ugliest and the most, you know, repressive form of the state upon it trying to suppress dissent in the country, and we also found ways around it We had different forms where apps which would work via Bluetooth and we connected through that. They used a Bluetooth mesh-based app. which allows messages to jump from phone to phone with each device capable of forwarding it further. One such app is BitSocial. Its developer, Rahul Kumar, says over 200 protesters used it during the demonstration Now this Sa No I don't see In-to-democracy as a viable option. if you don't like what someone is saying So, silencing his voice is, in a way, like silencing me. It feels like it's about to be wiped out, just like democracy. It's not the first time that the Indian government has The government shut down the internet to suppress protests. According to Access Now and NGO Monitoring Blackouts, in 2025, India cut internet access 65 times, the highest in a democracy.