Cockroach Janta Party surges to 22M followers in India, protests unemployment and exam scandal

Party founder Abhijeet Dipke at a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) event in Delhi. Source: AFP/ARUN SANKAR

A judge in India called the youth "parasites." In response, an angry movement formed, rebelling against the scandal-ridden education system. How dangerous such uprisings can become for governments was seen in India's neighborhood.

The young people came with a rose and the Indian constitution to show their peaceful intent. Surrounded by a strong police presence, supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party gathered in early June in Delhi for their first public protest. What had started a few weeks earlier as a satirical idea on the internet has since developed into a mass movement.

Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and stated he was ready to sacrifice his freedom for the movement. "We turned a joke into a revolution," he shouted to the crowd.

Within a few weeks, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)—a play on Narendra Modi's ruling BJP—has gained more than 22 million followers on Instagram, surpassing his Hindu nationalist party. The movement channels the anger of a generation that, despite solid economic growth, can barely find work.

At the event in the capital, the young people took their frustration to the streets for the first time. Modi's government will watch closely whether the movement only briefly profits from the weakness of the established opposition, which has no language for the youth, or develops into a serious opposition movement. Observers place it in line with the youth-driven mass protests in Nepal last year and in Sri Lanka in 2022, which brought down governments.

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) celebrate Abhijeet Dipke. Source: ARUN SANKAR/AFP

Origins of the Movement

It all started with a humiliation. During a hearing, India's Chief Justice spoke of young people who were "like cockroaches," unable to find employment and living as "parasites" on society. Dipke, an Indian-origin graduate of Boston University living in the USA, then asked sarcastically on platform X what would happen "if all the cockroaches got together."

The response was overwhelming; Dipke had struck a nerve. Within days, the mockery turned into a movement with its own website and a biting manifesto. Its name: An allusion to the judge's insult. "Cockroach" is the English word for Kakerlake; "Janta" comes from Hindi and means "people." So Cockroach Janta Party roughly translates to "Cockroach People's Party."

Students Under Pressure

The Modi government, known for its intolerance of criticism, tried to have the group's account on X suspended, citing national security—which only fueled further attention. The reasons for the anger of many young Indians cannot be censored away.

According to a recent survey, almost 40 percent of Indian university graduates under 25 are unemployed. Added to this is a national examination system that wears down the youth and repeatedly makes headlines due to leaks. In this year's medical entrance exam, where more than two million applicants compete for around 130,000 places, the questions were leaked to the highest bidder, forcing the test to be canceled.