Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, addresses supporters during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Jun 6, 2026 as a placard in Hindi demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is on the right. (Photo: AP/Manish Swarup)

India's 'cockroach' youth movement stages first street protest in New Delhi

Led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, the Saturday (Jun 6) demonstration by Cockroach Janta Party took India's largest online youth movement to the streets for the first time.

06 Jun 2026, 05:17 · CNA · Join

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NEW DELHI: Hundreds of supporters of the viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gathered in India's national capital on Saturday (Jun 6), taking the country's largest online youth movement off screens and on to the streets for the first time.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement, arrived in New Delhi from the United States on Saturday to participate in the protest. Police laid steel barricades at arrivals at New Delhi’s international airport.

The protest at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi on Saturday was an early test of whether the movement can channel its online popularity into broader grassroots support around growing frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and economic prospects.

Abhijeet Dipke, head of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), joins supporters of the CJP during a sit-in protest demanding the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in New Delhi, India, Jun 6, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

As police officers in riot gear watched on, hundreds of protesters - many carrying paper cockroach masks and pamphlets - called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demand grew out of an exam irregularity controversy in May, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.

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"We want accountability from the government," said Utkarsh Raj, a medical college aspirant.

"How is it that exam papers get leaked in this country? How is this right?" added Raj, 16.

Before the demonstration began, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka described the protest as a "peaceful movement for the youth of the nation".

Dipke is "ready for a long and big day in India's politics", Ranka said.

Dipke, 30, who has lived in the US for the past two years, had said his family and friends feared he could be arrested on his return to India.

A person wearing a mask holds a poster which reads "I am a Cockroach", as supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) await the arrival of Abhijeet Dipke, head of the CJP, on the day of a sit-in protest demanding the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in New Delhi, India, Jun 6, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

COCKROACH JANTA PARTY

CJP, which has amassed roughly 22 million Instagram followers since launching in mid-May, is the largest online expression of dissent against the Hindu nationalist Modi's 12-year-old rule, fuelled by persistently high youth unemployment and recurring leaks of examination papers that threaten to derail the careers of millions of students.

Modi's government has blocked the movement's X account in the country, a move the CJP has challenged in a Delhi court. Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the group of seeking followers from arch-enemy Pakistan and the "anti-India gang".

CJP came about after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant likened critics and some unemployed youth to cockroaches during a May hearing, sparking backlash among frustrated young Indians.

While Kant later said his comments were taken out of context, Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, used the insult as inspiration for a parody political party.

The party has turned the cockroach into a wry badge of endurance and political articulation. Videos and memes lampooning unemployment, corruption and political dysfunction have drawn millions of views online.

CJP supporters jokingly describe themselves as unemployed, perpetually online and shut out of meaningful influence. But beneath the humour lies a broader criticism of Modi's government, as they argue that ordinary Indians, particularly young people, have been left with fewer opportunities.

A person wears a cockroach-themed mask, as supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) await the arrival of Abhijeet Dipke, head of the CJP, on the day of a sit-in protest demanding the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in New Delhi, India, Jun 6, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

India has nearly 400 million people aged 15 to 29, and generating non-farm jobs for them remains one of its biggest challenges despite rapid growth. The urban youth jobless rate was nearly 14 per cent in April.

Many educated young people are also stuck in low-paid or insecure jobs that do not match their skills, economists say.

CJP's rise echoes a similar trend across South Asia of youth movements born out of social media playing a central role in anti-government protests, including uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and unrest in Nepal.

Political analysts say the group's popularity has begun to dent Modi's image despite his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's recent victories in key state elections, even as wider frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages brought by the Iran war.

Still, the movement's sceptics, particularly supporters of Modi’s party, have dismissed the phenomenon as little more than a social-media gimmick. They argue the movement’s online popularity may not translate into street mobilisation and that its rapid rise is likely fleeting.

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