'Cockroach Janta Party' challenges the narrative of India's economic growth
Born online as satire following a controversial statement by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the movement has brought into the streets millions of supporters, including students and young people with no job security. At the core of its complaint are unemployment, public exam scandals, and the growing disconnect from traditional parties. Analysts urge caution, but see the phenomenon as a sign of widespread dissatisfaction.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Starting as a provocation on social media, the "Cockroach Janta Party" is becoming the voice of youth dissatisfaction in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's India.
What until a few weeks ago seemed like online satire has now landed in the streets, mobilising students, activists, and young workers around issues that have fuelled frustration and distrust among younger Indians for years, namely unemployment, scandals in entrance exams, and the difficulty of accessing an education perceived as increasingly elitist and less meritocratic.
The movement's origins date back to mid-May, when Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young activists to “cockroaches”. Although the magistrate later clarified that his words had been misunderstood, the term struck a nerve with a generation struggling to find work despite increasingly higher levels of education.
A few days later, Abhijeet Dipke, a communications expert and recent graduate of Boston University, launched the Cockroach Janta Party social media page from the United States, ironically calling it, in the words of Surya Kant, the “Voice of the lazy and the unemployed”.
The initiative quickly went beyond satire. Within days, its Instagram and Twitter accounts reached 20 million followers, surpassing that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling party.
The transformation from online phenomenon to political mobilisation unfolded in just a few weeks.
After an initial rally in New Delhi, the movement held fresh protests at Savitribai Phule Pune University in the state of Maharashtra, presenting a five-point manifesto to reform the public examination system.
The demands include compensation for students penalised by exam leaks, a clear deadline for the publication of results, and an independent body to oversee the selection process.
At the heart of the current protests is the demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accused of failing to adequately handle a series of scandals involving nationwide competitive exams and competitions.
Dipke announced the launch of an indefinite protest in New Delhi starting 20 June if the government does not meet the movement's demands.
Every year, approximately one million students sit for entrance exams for Indian institutes of technology, which offer 200,000 places across the country. Of the 100 students with the highest scores, 62 per cent, according to statistics, go abroad to continue their studies.
The latest outcry was sparked instead by the case of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), the main entrance exam for Indian medical schools, repeatedly plagued by allegations of irregularities.
After the selection test last May, reports of possible early release of questions and other anomalies emerged, prompting authorities to cancel the test and call a new session.
The success of the Cockroach Janta Party seems, however, to reflect a malaise that goes beyond exams.
According to many observers, a significant portion of the urban middle class and young people do not recognise themselves in the government's narrative of an India in constant economic growth.
While the government continues to promote the country as one of the most dynamic economies in the world, many young people complain about the shortage of skilled job opportunities, the rising cost of living, and the difficulty of converting educational qualifications into concrete career prospects.
In fact, 40 per cent of people aged 15 to 25 are unemployed in India, a percentage that drops to 20 per cent for the 25-29 age group, but affects people with a high level of education.
Even those who do find work often do not see their knowledge and skills fully utilised. Some studies show that most Indian graduates are not suited to the professions for which they trained: of 1.5 million engineering graduates, 83 per cent lack the skills needed to find work in their field.
The movement's popularity also comes at a time when the opposition appears unable to address this discontent.
This very gap between traditional parties and the new generations helps explain why a platform that began as a joke has managed to gain support so quickly, to the point that some have started to seriously consider the possibility that the Cockroach Party might have the same impact as the youth movements that have toppled governments in South Asia in recent years.
Other analysts urge caution. In an interview with the Indian news website Scroll, political scientist Amit Ahuja of the University of California, Santa Barbara, observed that the movement remains primarily an online presence for now.
The expert believes that it is unlikely that it will immediately lead to scenarios like the mobilisations that helped topple governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in recent years.
More likely, in his view, the BJP will try to take on some of the demands put forward by the movement, addressing the problems it highlighted.
Back 2018, Prime Minister Modi had suggested that unemployed youth fry pakoras (veggie fritters) in the streets, an activity that many subsequently took up in protest. Conversely, other protests, like the 2020 farmers' protest, forced the government in New Delhi to accede to the protesters' demands.
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21/05/2025 18:25
