India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) declared victory on Saturday night after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, ending a five-week protest that had spread across multiple cities. The resignation is the first time a minister has stepped down due to public pressure during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 12-year tenure.
“We have done it,” CJP spokesperson Saurav Das told a jubilant crowd at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar. “Pradhan has sent in his resignation, which means that our first demand has been met.” Das added that the second key demand—withdrawal of criminal investigations targeting CJP members—was also met, though some protesters remained in detention.
NEET exam scandal and student suicides
Pradhan's tenure was marred by repeated leaks of the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) papers, a scandal that forced millions of students to retake the grueling exams and delayed university admissions. CJP organizers said more than 20 students have killed themselves over the matter. The now-ex minister had previously dismissed protesters as “the B-team of terrorists.”
In his resignation statement, Pradhan said he acted “considering the situation at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere in the country, and so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of the circumstances, national unity is maintained, no student's future gets entangled in legal complications and our children can focus on their studies.”
On Sunday, Modi announced he would authorize an examination reform task force headed by Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Indian tech giant Infosys. “The government of India is continuously taking various measures for the future of students,” the Bharatiya Janata Party prime minister said in a video posted on social media. “However, we must look to the future. Our examination system needs to be reliable and transparent, and it must make maximum use of technology.”
From slur to symbol of resistance
The protest movement began in May after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant compared unemployed young people to “cockroaches.” Led by political strategist Abhijeet Dipke, the protesters satirically reclaimed the slur as the symbol of a movement that has grown into a broader challenge to Modi's increasingly authoritarian rule. The government has faced mounting repression of protest and dissent, including restrictions on journalists and activists, and the use of “lawfare” to target critics.
Last week, tens of thousands of youth-led protesters marched in New Delhi, where they were met with police batons and tear gas. Indian media reported thousands of injuries. The mood was markedly different after Pradhan's resignation. “Cockroaches won!” many CJP members and supporters said. Others added, “Democracy Won!”
“This is democracy,” said the CJP. Tavleen Singh, a columnist for The Indian Express, wrote on X: “Now that the cockroaches have won their first battle, may they win many more. May they become a real political party in the near future.”
Sonam Wangchuk, an environmentalist whose hunger strike was a focal point of the protests, was released Sunday from a Gurugram hospital, where he had been recovering from his 26-day fast since Thursday.
Broader implications and next steps
Emboldened by the CJP victory, members of the Communist Party of India (CPI)-affiliated All-India Youth Federation and All-India Students' Federation marched on the Chennai residence of Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar demanding the abolition of the NEET. Police detained more than 200 demonstrators. “The struggle will intensify,” said the CPI. “Don't mistake the beginning for the end,” echoed the CJP.
Asked what's next for the cockroach movement, Dipke told an ANI reporter that “we will soon share the next strategy. This has just ended yesterday, please give us a little time.” The movement's success has drawn comparisons to other youth-led protests in the region, including Bangladesh's recent political turmoil and the broader challenge to authoritarian governance across South Asia.
The CJP's victory marks a significant moment in Indian politics, demonstrating the power of youth-led mobilization in a country where dissent has been increasingly stifled. As the movement looks to its next steps, it remains to be seen whether this will spark a broader wave of accountability or remain a singular triumph against a powerful government.
