Young Indians launch 'Cockroach Janta Party' to protest unemployment and NEET scandal

Young Indians have launched a satirical political movement called "Cockroach Janta Party" to protest unemployment and corruption in the government. | Ishant Chauhan/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

You've heard of China's "rat people," now get ready for India's "cockroaches."

On Saturday, hundreds of young Indians swarmed the country's capital, New Delhi. Many wore masks depicting cockroach faces in support of a satirical movement called the "Cockroach Janta Party."

The word "janta" means "people" in Hindi, and the CJP is a play on the name of India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The movement is a protest against:

• High youth unemployment in the subcontinent
• Corruption in the government
• Failures of the education ministry

Origin of the Term "Cockroach"

The term "cockroach" was inadvertently coined during a May Supreme Court hearing by India's chief justice, Surya Kant, who compared young people to unemployed "cockroaches" and "parasites." He has since clarified that he was referring to people with bogus degrees, not the youth broadly.

The Birth of the Cockroach Janta Party

Following these comments, an Indian based in the US, Abhijeet Dipke, posted on his X account, "What if all cockroaches come together?"

Dipke went on to launch the CJP, calling for Indians who are "unemployed, lazy, chronically online," and "have the ability to rant professionally" to join the movement. Its website reads:

• "Voice of the lazy and unemployed"
• "A political party for the people the system forgot to count"

Social Media Presence

• Instagram: 22.7 million followers as of press time, surpassing the ruling party BJP's account
• X (formerly Twitter): Nearly 300,000 followers (Dipke said the account was disabled for a period)

India's Youth Unemployment Crisis

The CJP's formation comes as India is battling a high youth unemployment rate. According to March statistics from the Indian Press Information Bureau:

| Demographic | Unemployment Rate (2025) | |-------------|--------------------------| | People aged 15–29 (overall) | 9.9% | | Urban youth | 13.6% |

Millions of highly qualified young workers in the country are battling for a smattering of job openings.

The NEET Exam Scandal and Saturday's Protest

CJP's Saturday protest in New Delhi was aimed directly at sacking India's education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, who many hold responsible for the recent scandal involving India's medical school entrance test, "NEET." The exam, taken by millions of medical student hopefuls, was deemed invalid after the exam questions were leaked.

The group gave humorous, witty instructions for participants joining the protest on Saturday, including:

• "Eat before you arrive. Revolution requires breakfast."
• "The movement is stronger when cockroaches arrive in groups."

A Broader Trend

While other Gen Z-led protests have taken place in India in recent years — over issues such as unemployment and poorly managed entrance examinations — none have achieved the virality and social media presence of the CJP.

The cockroach trend brings to mind other Gen Z- and millennial-led protests that have erupted across South Asia in recent years, including Bangladesh and Nepal.

In contrast, China's "rat people" trend of 2025 was characterized by a passive, quiet resignation of the country's youth, burned out by China's grueling "996" work culture and high unemployment.