Young protesters have exposed the limits of a strongman’s authority. Crushing dissent risks deepening the democratic crisis he should confront

Narendra Modi’s heavy-handed crackdown on protests over electoral rights in Delhi appears to have backfired. Over the weekend, his government tried to crush demonstrations led by the gen Z Cockroach Janta party (CJP). It locked up thousands of young people, detained journalists and shut down the capital as if he had declared emergency rule. Abhijeet Dipke, who launched the CJP in May after India’s chief justice compared jobless youths to “cockroaches”, was detained with other leaders when he landed in Delhi. Those who did take to the Indian capital’s streets were roughed up by police or taken into custody. Even when the usually deferential supreme court ordered peaceful assembly be protected, Mr Modi’s government showed its authoritarian contempt for fundamental constitutional rights.

This was less a display of strength than a government showing its fear of voters it claims to represent. But the actions did not stop the protests. On Monday, thousands marched in Delhi, demanding the resignation of India’s election chief over reports that the names of more than 130 million voters were deleted from the electoral roll to benefit Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in recent elections. It’s a charge that India’s election commission denies, although some commissioners have raised concerns over voters’ names being removed without their knowledge.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Thousands join rally to deliver petition calling for resignation of election commissioner

Delhi police have again obstructed protests in India’s capital as thousands of people returned to the streets, led by opposition leaders, to demand the resignation of the election commissioner.

After mass unrest in the capital over the weekend, when thousands were detained and harassed by police as they attempted to take part in a protest led by the gen Z Cockroach movement, on Monday the main opposition leaders led another procession through Delhi, this time to the supreme court.

Judge leading UK inquiry says most operators using privilege against self-incrimination to refuse to provide information

• UK politics live – latest updates

Most SAS personnel approached by an inquiry into alleged extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan have refused to answer any questions, the judge leading the proceedings has said.

Lord Justice Haddon-Cave is investigating allegations of more than 50 summary killings by UK special forces soldiers as well as claims of an alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigations by the Royal Military Police.

President Zardari suspends provincial government in escalation of tensions as Khan supporters march to Islamabad

Politicians from ⁠the party of the former Pakistani ​prime minister Imran Khan have been detained after the suspension of a provincial government now under emergency rule.

Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended the ⁠government in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, led by Khan’s ally Sohail Afridi, on Sunday.

CJP leaders say Modi’s government is creating ‘atmosphere of fear’ after they were among thousands detained on Saturday

The leaders of India’s Cockroach movement accused the Narendra Modi government of declaring “war with its own citizens” and vowed to continue with their protest after being released from police detention, as anti-government unrest rocked Delhi for a second day.

The three leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta party (CJP) were taken into custody on Saturday when thousands were detained by police as authorities went to extreme lengths to prevent young people taking to the streets to protest.

Authorities impose strict lockdown in capital to try to stop rally against removal of 130m names from electoral roll

Indian authorities have placed Delhi under a severe lockdown and detained tens of thousands of people, including the leader of the youth-led “Cockroach” movement, in an attempt to stop an anti-government protest.

Thousands of people from across India were blocked from attending the demonstration, which had been called by the “Cockroach Janata party” (CJP) to protest against an exercise that has stripped 130m names from India’s electoral roll.

Genden Phuntsok brings charm and innocence to his portrayal of Tenzing Norgay, while Tom Hiddleston is suitably frank as Edmund Hillary

Here is a well intentioned, watchable, if sometimes soft-edged film with some NatGeo production values and VFX jeopardy on high mountain peaks. The subject is the triumphant Mount Everest expedition of 1953, in which the ultimate ascent was achieved by Nepalese-Indian mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

Tenzing, a former Sherpa guide whose unparalleled knowledge of the mountain and exemplary climbing skills earned him promotion to full team member, is played here by Tibetan actor Genden Phuntsok, while Hillary is robustly portrayed by Tom Hiddleston. Screenwriter Luke Davies and director Jennifer Peedom have the decent aim of restoring Tenzing’s achievement to the centre of the narrative, a tale which at the time was resoundingly claimed for Hillary and the British empire: a glorious redemption of Scott’s Antarctic ordeal 41 years earlier and a sign of divine approval for the imminent coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Thousands expected to march in Delhi on Saturday, as anger mounts over controversial changes to voter lists in world’s largest democracy

India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began as a satirical movement but is now emerging as a political force among gen Z’s, says authorities have begun detaining its members en masse days before a major anti-government protest in Delhi.

Opposition parties, their student units, and the “Cockroach” youth movement have been holding almost daily demonstrations seeking the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial revision of ⁠voter lists.