Cheers erupted at Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest site in July as news broke that Gen-Z protests had forced federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign.
One protester turned to me, beaming: "This is the youth's victory."
Just over three months later, the mood has shifted dramatically. Student protesters are now struggling even to assemble. Demonstrations by the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) last month over voting rights were met with sweeping restrictions and thousands of peaceful protesters were detained.
The summer had seen a new wave of dissent in India, driven by deep frustration among the youth and fuelled by irreverent online satire.
The movement spread across the country, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a leader with a strongman image, unaccustomed to open criticism or mockery, struggled to contain it. But the government's increasingly forceful security response suggests it has learned from its rare concession to protesters, invoking public order to curb dissent.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam rejected accusations of heavy-handedness and told the BBC: "The right to protest and freedom of expression is mandated by the constitution, but it has to be done within the law. It cannot override the rights of others, at the cost of public security".
