{"id":56763,"date":"2026-07-25T22:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T22:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/56763\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T22:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T22:13:20","slug":"we-have-done-it-joy-as-cockroach-protests-push-india-minister-out-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/56763\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We have done it\u2019: Joy as \u2018Cockroach\u2019 protests push India minister out | Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Delhi, India \u2013 It all started with a question: \u201cWhat if all cockroaches came together?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty-six days after Abhijeet Dipke\u2019s social media post, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) he created had scored a major political victory: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced he was stepping down<\/a> in the face of widespread protests over an exam paper leak scandal.<\/p>\n

His resignation on Saturday was one of the main demands of the youth-led demonstrations across India that in recent weeks had grown into a major challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have done it, we have done it,\u201d Dipke screamed into the microphone, as he broke the news to the thousands of supporters at the Jantar Mantar protest site in the heart of New Delhi, where the internet had been blocked.<\/p>\n

He went on to read the names of students who had died by suicide due to exam paper leaks and cancellations that have impacted millions across India \u2013 and dedicated the protesters\u2019 victory to them.<\/p>\n

\"SupportersSupporters of the Cockroach Janta Party march towards parliament in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks, 20 July, 2026 [Adnan Abidi\/Reuters]<\/p>\n

The announcement sparked euphoric scenes of celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey called us lazy and unemployed,\u201d said 19-year-old Lavanya Bharti, referring to comments by India\u2019s chief justice likening India\u2019s youth to \u201ccockroaches\u201d and \u201cparasites\u201d, which sparked the creation of the CJP, a satirical spin on Modi\u2019s BJP that has been in power since 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [are] lazy enough to sleep on our Parliament Street for days; we are unemployed, bro,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have erased the fear that Modi spent years building. Cockroaches are crawling all over you, Modi,\u201d she shouted, before joining other protesters dancing.<\/p>\n

The CJP then called on protesters to \u201creturn home peacefully\u201d after the government \u201caccepted\u201d all its demands.<\/p>\n

They included compensation for the families of students who had died by suicide, assurances that protesters would face no punitive action and a public apology from police and paramilitary forces for attacks on demonstrators, such as on July 20 when more than 100 protesters were wounded<\/a> during their march to Parliament.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn injured demonstrator during a march to demand the resignation of India\u2019s education minister [File: Anushree Fadnavis\/Reuters]<\/p>\n

Video of the crackdown, including police firing tear gas and using batons and canes against protesters, fuelled nationwide anger and prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets across India \u2013 from Bengaluru and Jaipur to Lucknow, Mumbai and Patna.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will go back to my home now, happily,\u201d said Mehdi Hasan, 25, who had been sleeping at the Jantar Mantar protest site for the last month after travelling more than 1,120km (696 miles) from his home in Begusarai in Bihar.<\/p>\n

Holding a poster calling for accountability, he added: \u201cWe are the people of this country, showing the government that its power is not absolute\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nearby, 18-year-old Shruti Bedi said Pradhan\u2019s resignation was a victory for students but warned it was not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be a total reform, a total takeover of the government in our hands,\u201d she said, shaking a black spray paint can in her hands. \u201cPeople have this deep-rooted contempt in their hearts,\u201d Bedi continued, noting that the biggest accomplishment of the Gen Z protesters<\/a> is \u201ccitizens finding their voice back\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis type of resignation is a first for Modi, who has been in power for 12 years, and maintained a strongman image \u2014 that has been tarnished by the huge amount of Gen Z-produced social media content [AFP]<\/p>\n

Critics say the disconnect between the so-called Generation Z in India pushed the government into a corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long until politicians\u2019 kids are educated abroad and we are beaten up by police on the streets for demanding our rights?\u201d asked Bedi, near a group of friends who held the popular Japanese manga One Piece, a symbol adopted by Gen Z protest movements against inequality, unemployment and old leadership worldwide.<\/p>\n

Finally, as the protest site was emptying, the \u201ccockroach\u201d movement\u2019s official handle on X posted a reply to Dipke\u2019s post that sparked it all<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd today, friends, we found out what happens [when the cockroaches assemble].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Delhi, India \u2013 It all started with a question: \u201cWhat if all cockroaches came together?\u201d Thirty-six days…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[949,933,1472,8,1334,9,3377,7],"class_list":["post-56763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","tag-asia","tag-education","tag-features","tag-headlines","tag-india","tag-news","tag-protests","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116982920586306776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}