After Being Called "Cockroaches" by Elites, Indian Youth Form a "Cockroach Party"
On July 20 local time, thousands of young Indians gathered in New Delhi's capital to demand that Education Minister Damanendra Pradhan resign over the national medical entrance exam leak scandal.
The protest took place on the opening day of India’s monsoon session of Parliament. Protesters began from Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi, attempting to march toward Parliament. According to Reuters, police had previously denied permission for the rally, setting up roadblocks along routes leading to Parliament and central New Delhi, and deploying large numbers of officers and paramilitary personnel to stop the crowd.
Indian police used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters, while some demonstrators threw stones at police. Authorities reported that the clashes left 118 police and security personnel, and 60 protesters, injured.
The rally was organized by the “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), a newly formed group less than three months old. The name, laden with irony, originated from a courtroom remark made by India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant.
In May, during a hearing at the Supreme Court, Kant likened some unemployed youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites.” After the remarks sparked backlash, he clarified that he was not criticizing all Indian youth, but specifically those holding “fake degrees.”
On May 16, Abhijeet Dippuk, a 30-year-old Indian living in the U.S., posted on social platform X: “What if all cockroaches united?”
Subsequently, Dippuk capitalized on the viral joke, launching a website and social media accounts to transform the internet meme into an organized movement called the “Cockroach Janta Party.” The party uses a logo depicting a cockroach crawling on a smartphone, claiming to represent “the lazy, the unemployed, and those who are always right,” with the slogan: “A party for those forgotten by the system.”
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1871473623466123/
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