India’s viral youth movement has moved from memes to the streets. Their leader tells CNN why
By Rhea Mogul, Deepak Rao and Vijay Bedi, CNN
New Delhi (CNN) — What started as an online joke has now spilled onto the streets of India’s capital.
Since Saturday, Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party, has been camped out in the heart of New Delhi, leading a crowd of protesters who are refusing to leave until the country’s education minister resigns over a national exam system mired in scandal.
“We are here for the long haul, no matter how many days it takes,” Dipke told CNN from the protest site on this week, as dozens gathered around him in support. “We are going to be here until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.”
Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University graduate, arrived in India earlier this month to lead a movement of frustrated Gen Zers. After years of exam leaks, persistently high youth unemployment, and opportunities slipping further out of reach, their simmering frustration is sparking a demand for accountability that many say can no longer be ignored.
The youth-driven Cockroach Janta Party – a riff on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – launched just last month, deriving its insect mascot from comments made by India’s chief justice that were interpreted as calling the country’s unemployed youth “cockroaches.”
Last week, Dipke traveled to several Indian cities, joining thousands of angry demonstrators to demand the education minister’s removal. The protests culminated on Saturday with a rally at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar monument – a site Dipke has not left since.
Hundreds of people have gathered throughout the week to carry posters, shout slogans, and sing. The Cockroach Janta Party has also encouraged demonstrators to bring different symbolic props to the site each day.
In a bid to maintain a peaceful atmosphere, demonstrators have been seen offering roses to police officers on duty. Many have carried the Indian flag and brought copies of the constitution to the demonstration.
Earlier in the week, participants arrived with “thalis” – traditional steel platters – and spoons, banging them in a cheeky nod to Modi’s Covid-era call to rattle utensils.
On Tuesday, protesters were asked to bring diapers and write demands for Pradhan’s resignation on them – a satirical swipe at the government’s inability to stop exam leaks, Dipke said.
“There is not even a government exam in India which does not leak,” Dipke said. “So that was another symbol, that may be use a diaper to prevent leakages.”
India’s make-or-break exam system is a high-stakes gauntlet for a limited number of university placements. Millions sit for them every year, competing for openings where a fraction of a percentage point can decide a student’s future.
The system has long been mired in controversy, including exam paper leaks and technical failures, placing a crushing burden on students, and financial strain on families investing everything in their children for a promise that can often appear fragile.
Last month, more than two million students who sat for India’s largest medical entrance exam were told their results would be scrapped, after allegations emerged that the paper had been leaked.
In the weeks since, Indian media has reported several student suicides allegedly linked to the immense pressure of the exams, which Dipke and his supporters commemorated this week by lighting candles.
“We just wanted to pay tribute to the students who lost their life because the system has failed them,” Dipke said.
CNN has contacted India’s Education Ministry about the issues raised by Dipke.
Speaking to Indian news channel NDTV this week, Pradhan referred to the Cockroach Janta Party as the “B-team of terror groups.”
Dipke called the remarks “ridiculous,” insisting his group is seeking justice for students, especially those who have died by suicide.
“Instead of taking moral responsibility, he is labeling us as terrorists. I don’t think there could be anything more sad than this,” he said.
Authorities implemented heavy security measures outside venues for the medical exam’s re-sit on Sunday and enlisted military aircraft to transport the test papers.
As for the ongoing New Delhi protest, a steady stream of volunteers keeps the camp running, arriving daily with food, drinking water and other essentials.
During CNN’s visits on Tuesday and Wednesday, the crowd fluctuated between 200 and 300 people during the day, swelling to around 500 by the evening. As night fell, about 50 demonstrators remained sleeping at the site.
When asked about the future of the movement, Dipke said that the Cockroach Janta Party is “still in the very early phase.”
“It has only been a month since we started, and less than two weeks since I returned to India,” he said, outlining his plans to build a “formal structural body” across multiple states.
Ultimately, Dipke said he aims to reform India’s examination system.
“We are taking it one step at a time,” he said, adding: “We are going to make a statement.”
The-CNN-Wire
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