Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal and next India? 'One Piece' pattern raises eyebrows

On Saturday, the Delhi Police played on the front foot, picking up CJP leaders from the flight at Delhi airport. However, little did they know about the impromptu protest that would happen later in the capital city, led by All India Students Association (AISA) president Neha Bora. She was detained along with many other leaders by police, but what caught the attention was her red T-shirt that had a Jolly Roger symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates from the popular 1997 Japanese manga “One Piece.”

In an earlier Instagram story Bora posted before the protest, she particularly brought the focus to the insignia of One Piece written over her T-shirt. However, political experts found a pattern in the One Piece symbol that comes with two bones and a hollowed-eye skull with a round hat.

In the manga series, the captain Monkey D. Luffy uses this flag with his crew to fight a tyrannical world government. However, the symbol has adorned political colours recently and was seen last in the Philippines and Indonesia, where youth showed their dissatisfaction with the ruling regime.

The symbol also gained significance in Nepal as the country descended into chaos and the flag appeared in the Singha Durbar. Some opine this to be part of a plan from the deep state to create chaos and overthrow any government through psychological warfare. However, another section is welcoming the movement so that they could raise their discontent and probably emulate and find success like what happened in Nepal and other Southeast Asian countries.

Neha Bora particularly choosing the One Piece T-shirt is seen as a tacit message to the government about the turbulent days to come in the days ahead. It is yet to be known if the protest intended is peaceful or something that would mimic what pushed Nepal into chaos and violence.

Meanwhile, Congress has announced a march to the Supreme Court of India on Monday to register its protest and hand over its plea to the Chief Justice of India regarding the alleged vote fraud.