Youth 'Cockroach' Movement Takes to the Streets of India's Capital

New Delhi, India – Saurav Kushwaha, 17, barely had time to pack a few clothes before he and his brother caught an overnight train from their village in central India, arriving in New Delhi on Saturday morning. The two brothers rested on the sidewalk, waiting for Abhijeet Dipke to fly in from the United States.

The protest stems from the simmering anger of India's youth — half the nation's 1.4 billion people are under 25 — long frustrated by exam-leak scandals and irregularities at the country's largest examination boards. That discontent found an unexpected outlet when the Cockroach People's Party (CJP), a satirical political party formed after India's Chief Justice mockingly called young people 'cockroaches,' emerged on social media.

Dipke, 30, a Boston University graduate, initially posted a tweet: 'What if all the cockroaches stood up together?' The phrase quickly went viral, amassing 22 million Instagram followers — double that of the ruling BJP. Now, Dipke and hundreds of protesters are no longer joking. 'The warning to the Modi government is simple: force the Education Minister to resign. If not, we will not leave here,' Dipke shouted.

The protest took place at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest zone in the capital, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This follows the cancellation of a postgraduate medical exam due to a leak, which itself came after a series of errors in the Central Board of Secondary Education's final exams.

Kushwaha, who just finished his 12th-grade exams, expressed anxiety about the future: 'I'm not sure I can pursue higher studies, but I'm angry because the government is indifferent to those who elected them.' He followed the movement online from his village in Madhya Pradesh and decided to come to the capital because 'there's a real chance to force the minister to resign.'

Mohammad Aftab, 28, a food delivery worker, climbed a tree to hear Dipke speak. He dropped out of school due to poverty and lacks social insurance. 'I couldn't go to school, but there are millions of students who stayed up all night for exams, trying to build a life. It is our duty to stand up and demand that the guilty minister resign.'

Among the crowd was police officer Shivani (last name withheld), whose daughter was also protesting. 'These kids are worried about their future. As a parent, I worry too. Sometimes you have to take to the streets, right?'

This marks the first time in Modi's 12-year rule that a protest could force a minister to resign. India's youth — the world's largest Gen Z population — have known only BJP rule, which critics say has criminalized dissent. The Modi government denies the allegations, insisting it follows the law and constitution.

Dipke, who left India two years ago to study public relations in the U.S., admitted he feared being arrested upon landing in Delhi. 'But it's not just my mother — every mother in this country fears their child will be arrested for speaking out politically,' he said. 'The cockroaches will stay until the minister resigns.'