A brewing affordability crisis, rising youth unemployment and a flippant remark calling young people “cockroaches” by the country’s Chief Justice have triggered a spontaneous political movement among India’s Gen Z that has satirically embraced the insult and garnered more than 15 million followers on social media.
Indian student protest the cancelation of a federally administered exam, something the CJP has highlighted in its manifesto as a failure of the current government.
AFP via Getty Images
A political collective that identifies itself as the “Cockroach Janta Party” (Cockroach People’s Party) emerged late last week after the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant described young, unemployed Indians as being “like cockroaches.”
Kant, who has since distanced himself from the comments after facing backlash, had said the “cockroaches” who don’t find employment “become media…social media” or Right to Information activists who “start attacking everyone.”
Kant’s comments triggered anger and criticism on social media, and the cockroach, which began as a joke, was soon embraced as a mascot of a political movement started by 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke.
Since then, the online gag has transformed into a political movement with a website, manifesto, more than 160,000 “members,” millions of social media followers and media interviews.
The movement has since started calling out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, demanding answers about soaring costs, lack of promised jobs and mishandling of federally administered university exams.
Modi and senior members of the BJP have not yet commented on the upstart political group, however, CJP’s official X handle has been blocked in India with a notice saying it is “in response to a legal demand.”
The CJP’s name is a tongue-in-cheek play on Modi’s ruling party BJP and its website satirically declares itself as the “Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed.” The party has a simple five-point manifesto on what it will do if it comes to power. The manifesto talks about not granting federal judges cushy post-retirement roles, like being made a member of the Indian Parliament’s upper house (Rajya Sabha), 50% reservation for women in parliament, and calls out recent voter roll purging by the country’s federal election commission. The manifesto also attacks India’s two richest people, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and their ownership of some of India’s biggest media houses. “All media houses owned by Ambani and Adani shall have their licenses canceled to make way for truly independent media,” the manifesto says, adding that the bank accounts of Modi-friendly news anchors will be investigated.
India’s youth are feeling the pinch of a series of overlapping challenges that are both raising the costs of living and creating a jobs crisis. The Iran war has caused a spike in the cost of gasoline, diesel and cooking fuel. India is heavily dependent on fuel imports from the Middle East and the soaring cost has also put a dent in the Indian Rupee, slumping to an exchange rate of nearly Rs 97 against the U.S. dollar—up from 85 a year ago. Before he became prime minister, Modi had often attacked the previous Congress-led government whenever the Rupee fell or fuel prices spiked. A high jobless rate among graduates is also an issue in a country that produces 8 million graduates a year. The 2026 State of Working India Report by the Azim Premji University found that “Graduate unemployment among the 15- to 29-year-olds remains high—nearly 40% among the 15- to 25-year-olds, and 20% among the 25- to 29-year-olds; and, only a small share secure stable salaried jobs within a year of graduation.” The IT services sector, which has been a key driver of high-paying jobs for young Indians over the past few decades, is also under pressure, with AI being blamed for large-scale layoffs.
In a recent speech during his official visit to Europe, Modi struck an unusually somber note about India’s economy. Modi warned that the world was facing a “decade of crisis” and if things didn’t improve soon, “the achievements of the last few decades could be erased and massive poverty could return.” Earlier this month, the prime minister also urged Indians to embrace more austerity by cutting back on gold purchases, foreign travel and fuel usage to help the country tide over the current crisis.
In a post on X on Tuesday, CJP founder Dipke pushed back against suggestions that the movement could morph into something more violent, as in neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh. He wrote: “The youth of this country are far more mature, aware, and politically conscious than many give them credit for. They understand their constitutional rights and will express their dissent through peaceful and democratic means. And please, do not demean them. Many of these young people are far more educated and informed than those currently running the government.”
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