Issue Brief on “India’s Student Movement: Catalyst and Political Implications”

In only few weeks of its creation, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged as the biggest resistance force for India’s BJP government in years. The party was initially formed online as a satirical response to the remarks made by the Chief Justice of India comparing unemployed youth with cockroaches. Prompted by these remarks, the CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted a message on social media asking “What if all cockroaches came together?“, leading to the formation of this satirical political movement.[1] It soon attracted active backing from the country’s ‘Gen-Z’ population. The party’s name carries perhaps a deliberate resemblance with India’s ruling party, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).

The party slogan simply claims to amplify the “voice of the lazy and unemployed”. The party invites anyone who is “unemployed, lazy, chronically online and can rant professionally” to join the movement.[2] From outside, what seemed a satire-driven casual platform, soon turned into a ground youth-led movement, challenging the traditional political setup.