India's 'Cockroach' youth movement founder arrives in New Delhi to protest Modi

Asia

The Cockroach Janta Party's protest on Saturday (Jun 6) marks the movement’s first foray into street politics after weeks of dominating social media feeds and news headlines.

06 Jun 2026 01:17PM

(Updated: 06 Jun 2026 03:14PM)

NEW DELHI: The founder of India's viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) arrived in New Delhi on Saturday (Jun 6) to lead a protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, taking the country's largest online youth movement to the streets for the first time.

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

The protest at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi on Saturday is 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.

Dozens of police officers gathered at the venue, barricading some surrounding roads as protesters shouted slogans demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demand grew out of an exam irregularity controversy in May.

Police used loudspeakers to direct people to Saturday's designated protest site.

"This is a peaceful movement for the youth of the nation," said movement spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka. Dipke is "ready for a long and big day in India's politics", Ranka said.

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. 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.

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.

Source: Agencies/ws