Could India's Cockroach Revolution Snuff Out the Modi Government?

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Taru had come to the protest prepared this time. In one hand was an anti-government poster and in the other was a bicycle helmet.

“We need to have protection in case Delhi police beat us up again,”

said the 25-year-old, who stood among her friends.

“We are not scared of them and we won’t run away, no matter what they do. We’ll stay here till they listen.”

On Tuesday, central Delhi still thronged with thousands of protesters, as an unprecedented expression of dissent against the powerful ruling Narendra Modi government showed no sign of abating.

Just 24 hours earlier, more than 50,000 people took to the streets in protest, swathes of them in their late teens and early 20s, mobilised by a new youth-led political movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janta party (CJP). Their rallying call was the resignation of the education minister and for reform of a corrupt and broken education system.

But what began peacefully on Monday – people fanning each other in the gruelling humidity, sharing snacks and chanting slogans – turned into scenes of brutality by the afternoon.

Delhi police denied the protesters the right to march on parliament and kettled the expanding crowd into a restricted area. The internet was shut down and barricades were erected across the capital. The came the police batons and the teargas.

Police said they were responding to agitation but organisers and witnesses claimed the police carried out unprovoked attacks, including against women and children in the crowd. About 60 suffered injuries and at least one protester is on a ventilator in hospital intensive care.

“The day was so wholesome to start with, there was so much love,”

said Taru.

“But after 3pm the police started attacking us. They were bashing us like anything. I saw them come up and hit people on the head as they were sitting down on the pavement doing nothing. And then as we were running, they opened up teargas on us.”

Taru described the response by Delhi police – which are under central government control – as a “big mistake. Now we are more agitated than ever.”

Some had travelled hundreds of miles to be there and said they intended to camp out until the government responded to the demands of the country’s millions of young people.

“The government needs to understand: we are not going anywhere,”

said Ranjit Verma, 23.

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India’s main opposition Congress party had also seized upon the mood, calling for Modi to resign “for destroying the future of India’s youth” as it held its own protest in Delhi on Tuesday.

While the CJP movement has primarily focused on accountability for devastating leaks of exam papers and calling for the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, the overriding feeling in the aftermath of Monday’s protest was that this was now so much bigger than one issue. For some, this was the moment India’s youth – totalling more than 600 million – had found its political voice.

“The solidarity on the streets yesterday filled my heart,”

said Kuhoo Kaushik, 26, a content creator from Delhi.

“How the government responded was really sad, police beating up 14-year-olds is horrible. But personally, I feel like it’s really awoken something in me.

“That’s why I’ve come back today: we won’t be moved until the government listens to us. It’s become about so much more than education – but one step at a time”’

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke vowed that the protests would continue, though did not state what the next steps for the movement would be to capitalise on their momentum.

Standing by the stage at the protest site, Ratna Singh, a CJP spokesperson, said the movement was very aware of ways in which the Modi government had successfully cracked down on previous movements and figures of dissent during its 12 years in power.

“Anyone who has tried to speak up against this government has faced terrorism charges or tax raids or jail and there is so much fear,”

she said.

“But I am very proud at how many people have showed up and come out on the streets. The police showed us no mercy – but no matter what barbaric treatment they give us, we will not be silenced.”

While a senior government minister met two CJP spokespeople on Monday to discuss their demands, Singh said the government had not responded to them on Tuesday and the “prime minister has remained silent about what happened”.

It was not only young people who returned to the protest site on Tuesday. Shobha Varma, 80, was attending with her granddaughter.

“Our education system has been failing young people for years,”

she said.

“But when I look out at everyone here, I really feel hope.”

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🪳 The Cockroach Revolution Is Gaining Momentum

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India's Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has resigned after a week of mass demonstrations, handing a major victory to a new youth movement that has posed an unprecedented challenge to Narendra Modi's government.

In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, Pradhan said he had submitted his resignation letter to the Prime Minister in response to mounting pressure from students.

"Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation (...) I have submitted my resignation letter to the Prime Minister," Pradhan wrote in a social media post.

He said he had been "deeply saddened by what has unfolded over the past 10 days," adding: "I deeply respect the aspirations, feelings, and legitimate expectations of the country's youth."

During his 12 years in power, Modi has cultivated a strongman image and consistently maintained that his ministers are not accountable to public pressure. This marks the first time that a mass protest movement has forced one of his closest allies to resign.

The protests were organized by the newly formed youth political movement, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has grown into a nationwide youth uprising this week.

The movement's central demand was Pradhan's resignation over an exam leak scandal that has affected millions of students and reportedly contributed to more than a dozen student suicides.

Modi's refusal to dismiss his minister over the scandal was widely viewed as a symbol of the alleged lack of accountability within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its repeated failure to address the challenges facing young people, particularly within India's troubled education system.

CJP organizers confirmed they had called off their demonstration following Pradhan's resignation and a meeting with senior BJP ministers on Saturday afternoon.

Addressing crowds gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke praised the "courage" of students who turned out in huge numbers despite facing police violence.

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"We have done it," he declared to chants of "Victory to India!" and "Long live the revolution!" However, Dipke emphasized that Pradhan's resignation was "just the beginning" of the movement's campaign for systemic education reform and democratic rights.

He also warned supporters against turning him into a hero.

"Do not make this mistake," Dipke said. "The country has already suffered from making one person a hero."

Faria Asif, 26, a lawyer attending the protest, said: "I am overjoyed. This is a huge victory—not just for students, but for the Constitution and for the entire nation. Being part of this movement has been incredibly empowering for all of us. I believe this is the beginning of real change."

News of Pradhan's resignation was met with jubilant celebrations from tens of thousands of CJP supporters gathered in Delhi, who had been demanding government accountability.

"This is one of the most historic days for our country," said 27-year-old Rochelle Cope. "For the first time in 12 years, someone in the government has been held accountable for wrongdoing. And it wasn't political parties that achieved this—it was the people.

"This is a movement of unity, love, solidarity, peace, justice, and strength. Being here has made me proud to be an Indian citizen. This is only the beginning—the government will no longer be able to rule as it did before."

For many participants, this was their first political protest, and the movement has been described as a "Gen Z political awakening" in India.

Public anger intensified following the police's violent response, prompting even more people to join the movement. Throughout the week, thousands gathered at the CJP's sit-in in Delhi, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding Pradhan's resignation.

Demonstrations also spread across the country, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in Kolkata and Mumbai.

Modi had agreed to fast-track investigations into the exam leak scandal but made no mention of the CJP's primary demand: Pradhan's resignation, despite him being regarded as one of the Prime Minister's most influential and loyal ministers.

However, the CJP leadership made it clear that Pradhan's resignation was a non-negotiable demand. As more protests erupted over the weekend and negotiations reached a stalemate, the BJP government appeared to be increasingly cornered.

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