Arundhati Roy in the Crosshairs Again: Old Speech Falsely Linked to CJP Protest

Viral posts falsely claim Arundhati Roy declared “Kashmir is not an integral part of India” during the CJP protest. The clip is actually from a 2010 conference in New Delhi.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against alleged irregularities in government-administered examinations, specifically demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged paper leaks. The protest, focused on examination integrity, has reached its 21st day. Meanwhile, educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike in support of the protest, is reportedly in worsening health.

The protests, sparked by recent government policy changes, have received support from several left-wing organisations, civil society groups, activists, and political leaders. So far, the government has not issued an official response to the movement. Protesters have not been given a formal platform to present their demands, nor has there been significant police action.

Several accounts across social media platforms, particularly X and Facebook, have circulated allegations and reports about the CJP movement and its leaders. Many of these claims have been previously addressed by fact-checkers.

The latest claim involves activist Arundhati Roy’s visit to the CJP protest site. Viral posts allege that Roy declared, “Kashmir is not an integral part of India,” to which protesters reportedly applauded. The posts are shared with captions and commentary characterising the protest as ‘anti-national’ and suggesting the movement supports individuals accused of holding anti-India views.

What is the viral claim?

On July 5, an X user, @the_Atharva, shared a video of Arundhati Roy speaking at a public event, with microphones from several media organisations placed in front of her. In the video, Roy recounts an interaction with a journalist who repeatedly asked her whether Kashmir was an integral part of India. She says she responded, “Kashmir has never been an integral part of India, however aggressively and however often you ask”, following which the audience applauded.

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​The Hindi caption accompanying the video roughly translates to: “Arundhati Roy’s declaration from the Cockroach Movement platform that ‘Kashmir is not a part of India,’ and all the cockroaches are dutifully applauding it.” The post further poses two rhetorical questions: “Is this movement against the system or against the country?” and “Have the people associated with this movement become traitors to the country or not?”

​As of July 9, the post garnered more than 3,24,000 views, 8,300 likes, and 4,500 reposts.

Many users in the comments referred to Arundhati Roy as a deshdrohi (traitor) and accused the movement of being anti-national.

One comment read: “NEET was a mere facade. This movement aims to create anarchy on the streets. So far, their impact is nothing. With more & more anti-Indian people like Arundhati Roy speaking on this platform, the public is able to understand the true colours of these guys. So, this will further go into slumber & die down”.

Another user wrote: “The Left’s playbook hasn’t changed since 2014: manufacture outrage, fuel street chaos, repeat”. The commenter further claimed that their role was to “expose the double standards, challenge the narrative, and hold up a mirror to those behind it”.

Another user commented, “Now we have a clear list of all Cockroaches by CJP members and supporters, so there is no need to do CAA and NRC”.

The remark references two contentious policies that became closely linked during the nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019. The CAA provides a fast-track to Indian citizenship for undocumented migrants belonging to six religious communities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—from three neighbouring countries, while excluding Muslims. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a proposed register intended to identify legal citizens and detect undocumented immigrants. Critics and human rights groups have argued that a nationwide NRC, when combined with the CAA, could disproportionately affect Muslims and others unable to produce the required documentation.

The video has also been shared on Facebook with similar claims, some of which have since been taken down.

How did we verify?

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to its full 8-minute version, uploaded to Tehelka TV’s YouTube channel on October 30, 2010. The video, titled ‘Arundhati Roy at the Azaadi – The Only Way Ahead conference in New Delhi, 21st October’, predates the ongoing CJP protests by over a decade.

According to the video’s description, Roy was speaking at the ‘Azaadi – The Only Way Ahead: Convention on Kashmir’ held at the LTG Auditorium in New Delhi on October 21, 2010. This implies that the viral clip is not from the recent CJP protests but from a 2010 conference.

The speech in the full video starts with the viral statement. However, the description notes that the first few minutes are missing.

Did Arundathi Roy visit CJP’s protest site?

Several videos shared by CJP supporters show Arundhati Roy visiting the protest site at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on day seven of the strike. She expressed solidarity, met members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), spoke with students, listened to concerns, and addressed the crowd.

We found no records to prove that Arundhati Roy spoke to the media or made any public statements on issues unrelated to the protest on the day of the visit.

How Arundhati Roy has long been a target of right-wing campaigns

Arundhati Roy’s political views and public statements have made her a frequent target of right-wing groups, including before the rise of coordinated social media campaigns. She has regularly commented on the state of India’s democracy since 2014.  

Roy has often criticised the Indian state’s policies in Kashmir and supports the region’s right to self-determination. She frequently calls the Kashmir Valley “the densest military occupation in the world.”

In June 2024, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor granted permission to prosecute Arundhati Roy under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The anti-terror charges stem from her alleged provocative speeches about Kashmir at a 2010 seminar in New Delhi. The original FIR was registered on November 27, 2010, at Tilak Marg Police Station, New Delhi, following a complaint by Sushil Pandit, a social activist from Kashmir.

This episode may be seen as another attempt to discredit a movement associated with a youth-led social media campaign in India, while also providing an opportunity to direct attention at one of its prominent critics, Arundhati Roy.

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