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New Delhi, India – It all started with a question: “What if all the cockroaches got together?”
Thirty-six days after Abhijeet Dipke’s tweet, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) he formed won a political victory: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. he announced that he was coming down in the face of widespread protests over the exam paper leak.
His resignation on Saturday was one of the most important events in the youth-led protests across India that in recent weeks have grown into a major challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We’ve done it, we’ve done it,” Dipke shouted into a microphone, as he broadcast the news to thousands of supporters at the Jantar Mantar exhibition center in central New Delhi, where the internet was shut down.
He went on to read out the names of students who had died by suicide due to the leak of exam papers and their cancellations that have affected millions across India – handing over the victory of the protesters to them.
The announcement sparked a flurry of celebrations.
“They call us lazy and inactive,” said 19-year-old Lavanya Bharti, referring to the chief justice of India’s comments comparing India’s youth to “cockroaches” and “germs”, which led to the establishment of the CJP, a mockery of Modi’s BJP, which has been in power since 2014.
“We (are) lazy enough to sleep in our Parliament Street for days; we are not at work, brother,” he said. “We have removed the fear that Modi spent years building. Cockroaches are crawling everywhere, Modi,” he shouted, before joining the other dancers.
The CJP then asked the protesters to “return to their homes in peace” after the government “accepted” all their demands.
It also included compensation for the families of students who died by suicide, assurances that protesters would not be punished and a public apology from the police and military for attacking demonstrations, such as on July 20 when more than 100 protesters were killed. he was injured on their way to Parliament.
Footage of the attacks, including police firing tear gas and batons against protesters, sparked national outrage and prompted thousands to take to the streets across India – from Bengaluru and Jaipur to Lucknow, Mumbai and Patna.
“I will go back to my home now, happily,” said Mehdi Hasan, 25, who slept at the protest site at Jantar Mantar last month after walking more than 1,120km (696 miles) from his home in Begusarai in Bihar.
Holding a sign calling for accountability, he added: “We are the people of this country, we show the government that its power is not enough”.
Nearby, 18-year-old Shruti Bedi said Pradhan’s resignation was a victory for students but warned it was not enough.
“There must be a complete overhaul, a complete coup in our hands,” he said, waving a black can of paint in his hand. “People have this deep cynicism in their hearts,” Bedi continued, noting that it was a great achievement. Gen Z critics and “people find their voice”.
Critics say disunity among India’s so-called Generation Z has pushed the government into a corner.
“How long will the children of politicians be trained abroad and beat us by the police in the streets for demanding our freedom?” asked Bedi, next to a group of friends who had the popular Japanese manga One Piece, a brand adopted by Gen Z protests against inequality, unemployment and old world leadership.
Finally, just as the protest page was winding down, the moderator of the “cockroach” group on X posted a response to Dipke’s post that started it all.
“And today, friends, we found out what happens (when cockroaches gather).”
