Kanjirappaly, Kerala, INDIA – With one small word, India’s chief justice, Surya Kant, sparked a youth movement that reshaped education and how Indian people viewed their democracy.
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Speaking about Indian youth in on May 15, Kant called them “cockroaches.”
The next day, Abhijeet Deepak launched the Cockroach Jatha Party. Back then, critics wrote it off as “useless.”
Yet that very same “useless” party ultimately became the driving force behind the resignation of India’s former education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
It all started with a criminal leak of a national test for youth wanting to attend medical school.
On May 3, more than 2 million students across India took the NEET exam, a crucial and highly competitive test for aspiring medical students.
Afterward, a teacher who had worked to help students prepare for the test noticed that a leaked portion of the exam was posted online – nearly an exact copy of the actual exam.
He reported the situation to the police, and officials cancelled the exam results on May 12 – discarding the results of all who sat for the exam – and set a new test date of June 21.
But then on May 15, Kant slurred India’s youth by calling them “cockroaches” and Deepak started the new political party.
Hundreds of students then gathered on June 20 alongside Deepak for an indefinite sit-in on the streets of Delhi, demanding the education minister’s resignation over the leak scandal.
Police said the suicides of at least a dozen students was linked to the leaks, which became a breaking point for thousands of young people.
On June 28, education activist Sonam Wangchuck began a hunger strike, drawing international eyes to the cockroach movement.
By its 21st day, the strike was receiving global coverage. On July 18, officials forcefully removed Wangchuk from a protest and admitted him to a hospital.
According to his supporters, his potassium levels – which had remained in the safe range before his removal – dropped at the hospital. They also claimed that when his wife requested access to his medical reports, hospital authorities refused to hand them over.
On July 20, an estimated 20,000 young people led by the Cockroach Jatha Party marched toward Parliament.
Authorities claimed protesters tried to breach barricades, while protesters maintained the march was peaceful and entirely democratic. The crowd was met by police with lathis (clubs) and tear gas. There were also allegations that police used pellet guns, expired tear gas and other crowd-control measures.
Marchers ranged in age from minors to senior citizens. Among them was 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, who lost his vision during the clashes, and a 21-year-old woman who sustained severe injuries and was placed on ventilator support.
Some people called out the Cockroach Jatha party, claiming they were funded by opposition parties or foreign powers, even though government ministries and officials confirmed the movement had no external backing.
Meanwhile, several influencers revealed they were offered money specifically to speak out against the youth protesters.
Despite every obstacle, the movement kept growing. Protests spread across the nation as citizens united in their demand for justice.
In the end, the collective pressure resulted in Pradhan’s resignation as education minister and the dismissal of testing officials.
A ruling party leader, Pralhad Joshi, took on the additional role of education minister.
Federal investigators made some arrests of people suspected of purchasing copies of the leaked exam.
India united behind the “cockroach” movement both online and on the ground, with citizens even arranging food deliveries directly to the protest site. It was no longer just a protest for student justice – it became a movement that united the entire country.
Every day, protesters swept litter off the streets, declaring, “If we are protesting for a better country and we litter, then what is the point?”
This movement stands as a strong reminder that the collective efforts of united ordinary citizens will always overcome those who underestimate the power of the voters.
Adrija Roopesh is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
