Acclaimed Indian author talks to Al Jazeera on a range of issues, including the Gen Z-led protests and allegations of vote theft by Modi’s government.

Award-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy says the ongoing protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government – mainly led by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) – have stripped the right-wing Hindu nationalist leader of his “carefully confected image” propped up by India’s corporate-owned news channels and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) control over social media.

Speaking with Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan on a range of issues, including the Gen Z-led antigovernment protests and allegations of vote theft against Modi’s government, the 64-year-old Booker Prize-winning writer says she hopes the political climate in the world’s most populous democracy is about to change.

“I do feel that something is boiling just under the surface. Something is going to happen,” she said. “The emperor has been called out, and he has lost his power.”

Here’s the interview Roy gave to Al Jazeera TV, edited for brevity.

Arundhati Roy, thank you for talking to Al Jazeera. Your debut novel won the prestigious Booker Prize. Since then, you have written acclaimed novels, hard-hitting political pieces, and collections of essays. How would you describe yourself: novelist, writer or a political activist? Or you don’t really think about those boundaries?

Roy: Well, I actually refrain from describing myself. I will leave that to other people because, you know, why should we describe ourselves? And categorise ourselves? That’s for other people to do.

One of the things that links all of your different aspects is this idea of satire. You are not chiefly a satirist, but in The God of Small Things and in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, you have used satire to devastating effects. But it always seems to be about politics. Is that a deliberate choice?

Roy: I don’t think so. I mean, in some ways it depends on how you define what politics is, right? To me, even a fairy tale is in some ways political, but not let-me-hit-you-on-the-head-with-a-hammer or let-me-display-my-manifesto type of politics. I am not. From my books and from the way I grew up, possibly the answer to your question is that there is no difference between the personal and the public space.

Let’s talk about India and its political climate. You wrote about the CJP movement. Now that’s a grassroots movement fuelled by young people who took an insult – of being called a cockroach – and owned it. And you started your essay with when hope seemed lost, in came these young roaches riding in the rain, “the progeny of the unholy union between a judge and a joke”, which is a brilliant line. What drew you to this particular movement?

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/cockroach-stir-stripped-modis-carefully-confected-image-arundhati-roy?traffic_source=rss