In India, tens of thousands of Gen Z protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Delhi, calling for the resignation of the country’s education minister. Starting as a satirical online movement just a few months ago, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is now one of India’s most visible youth movements.
Here is what you need to know.
Why are thousands of people taking part in youth-led protests in Delhi?
Despite its humorous origins, the CJP group quickly became a lightning rod for India’s disaffected young people.
The movement is led by Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old political communications strategist and former student at Boston University.
He has said that the movement was started as a joke, but after offering the option to sign up to the movement through a Google form, he received tens of thousands of responses.
This propelled it forward into becoming a serious protest group.
The trigger for Monday’s protests came from the treatment of Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known engineer and activist, who had been on hunger strike for 20 days in support of the CJP party at Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory in Delhi, which is often the site of protests.
On Saturday, the 59-year-old was forcibly taken to hospital, prompting CJP leader Dipke to call on protesters to march on India’s parliament on Monday.
Why are they called ‘cockroach’ protesters?
The name of the Cockroach Janta Party (the Cockroach People’s Party) came about in response to comments made by India’s Chief Justice, Surya Kant.
During a hearing, he allegedly compared unemployed young people drifting towards journalism and activism to cockroaches and parasites.
He later clarified that he had been referring specifically to people with “fake and bogus degrees”, not India’s youth more broadly.
The name is a parody of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 2014.
Spilling off the internet and into real life, young volunteers to the movement have turned up dressed as cockroaches at clean-up drives and protests.
What does the CJP want?
The CJP is mostly protesting over issues they have with India’s education system.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is India’s main entrance exam for admission to medical colleges across the country.
Nearly 2.28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May, having studied for months – in some cases years – for the notoriously difficult paper. However, days later, it was cancelled after allegations that the questions had been leaked.
It was a big blow to aspirants, who had to resit the exam under tight security weeks later. Anger over this was one of the reasons the CJP began its protest.
It and families have also alleged that some 20 students died by suicide due to distress after the exam was cancelled.
The NEET exam was also hit by a similar scandal in 2024.
The CJP is calling for the education system to be overhauled, with greater accountability over alleged exam paper leaks and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Following the treatment of Wangchuk on Monday, CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke also called on Modi to resign.
How much of a challenge does the party pose to the government?
While it is unclear whether the CJP will achieve its aims of having the education minister removed and the education system overhauled, it has had a major impact on India.
Monday’s protest has been the largest in the Indian capital against Modi’s government in recent years.
The movement has also drawn support from a number of Indian opposition politicians.
Reacting to images from Monday’s protest, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the police baton-charging protesting students as an “attack on democracy”.
Mahua Moitr, an MP from the All India Trinamool Congress, joined the protesters in the morning before attending parliament.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has also voiced support for the protesters, saying the students and protesters who have gathered in Delhi should be treated with respect.
By BBC News
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