A web-based multiplayer game in which players dodge police and detention on their ‌way to a protest site in New Delhi has gone viral, as young Indians use satire and humour to respond to police actions.

As youth-led protests over jobs, exam paper leaks and voter roll revisions spread across India, a growing crop of online games is transforming ​political grievances into shareable digital content.

The trend shows a generation raised on Instagram is expressing ​dissent in ways that differ sharply from the political communication style of Prime Minister ⁠Narendra Modi.

One such game, ‘Jantar Mantar Chalo’, was developed by 27-year-old IT professional Suraj Kushwah, who has ​described it as “dark humour”.

The game satirises the difficulties protesters face in reaching Jantar Mantar, a main protest site ​in the capital, amid police blockades, road closures and public transport suspensions.

Players can build a kafila, or procession, evade checkpoints and stage a demonstration, or switch sides and deploy batons and tear gas to disperse crowds.

“Whatever news was coming ​was kind of like a circus,” Kushwah said.

“People were trying to reach Jantar Mantar. And they were ​getting detained. And I imagined it as a 3D game.”