For about a month now, the Cockroach Janata Party has been staging a sit-in protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Educator and scientist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protesters in a hunger strike. Wangchuk fasted for nearly 21 days. The administration later removed him from the protest site following a court order and admitted him to a hospital. Amid growing nationwide anger over an alleged question-paper leak and evaluation scandal in a public examination, the recently emerged “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP) has launched a movement against unemployment, examination paper leaks, and the economic crisis, and Sonam Wangchuk has joined it. As a result, the movement has attracted international media attention. Who Are the Cockroach Janata Party? About two months ago, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed displeasure with the conduct of a lawyer. The lawyer had claimed that the Delhi High Court was delaying implementation of Supreme Court guidelines concerning the designation of senior advocates. While dismissing the petition, the bench reportedly observed: “There are already parasites in society who attack the system. Do you also want to join them? There are some young people who, because of a lack of employment and their inability to establish themselves in their professions, spread everywhere like cockroaches. Some of them start working in the media, some become active on social media, some become RTI (Right to Information) activists, and others become different kinds of activists.” The Chief Justice later clarified that he was referring primarily to lawyers holding “fake and forged degrees” and had not intended to make a broader comment about Indian youth as a whole. This Minority Group in India The statement quickly went viral. Abhijit Deep, a student at Boston University and a political communication strategist, along with some of his friends, created a digital group on Instagram called the Cockroach Janata Party purely as a joke and invited people to follow it. What happened next was beyond expectations. At present, the group reportedly has more followers than the BJP. According to the current breakdown, 49 percent of its followers are from Pakistan, 14 percent from the United States, 14 percent from Bangladesh, and only 9 percent from India. Therefore, the claim that it has already overtaken the BJP or Congress in India’s digital media space has effectively fallen flat. Popularity Through Memes Yet the group has gained popularity. How? Its tendency to mock through memes, deliberately abrasive presentation, and below-the-belt language have contributed to its popularity. Its political demands include accountability, media reform, electoral transparency, and greater representation of women. Self-deprecating jokes about “doomscrolling”—the tendency to continuously scroll through negative content—along with unemployment and widespread political fatigue, appear to have influenced social media algorithms and pushed the group’s reach much further. A recent survey reportedly found that 29 percent of young Indians under the age of 30 remain completely detached from political activism, while only 11 percent of young people are members of a political party. Therefore, among India’s roughly 650 million Gen Z population, fewer than 2.5 million young people have reportedly become followers of the Cockroach Janata Party. Why the Protest? Who Is Behind It? The Cockroach Janata Party took to the streets after allegations of a question-paper leak in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and serious irregularities in the CBSE Board’s evaluation process placed the future of more than 2.2 million students in question. The movement was supported by Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, as well as left-wing and far-left groups, which are described by their critics as agents of the “deep state” and members of the so-called “Tukde Tukde Gang.” Around a thousand people reportedly took to the streets around Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Sonam Wangchuk of Ladakh, whose fame was boosted by the film 3 Idiots, also joined the protest and began a hunger strike. Let us first examine the nature of this movement. Following the alleged leak of an examination question paper, the Education Minister ordered a prompt investigation, the accused were arrested, a re-examination was conducted, and the results were subsequently published. Yet the protesters demanded the minister’s resignation. In clashes with protesters, at least 118 police personnel—including special commissioners, joint commissioners, deputy commissioners, and several IPS officers—were reportedly injured. Around 60 protesters were also seriously injured. Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda met with the protesters and accepted their memorandum, but they reportedly declared that they would continue their movement. Sonam Wangchuk has said that he will continue his hunger strike until protesters are allowed to meet Members of Parliament inside Parliament. Sonam Wangchuk’s Calculated Hunger Strike The question is simple: Why is Wangchuk so strongly opposed to the central government even after repeatedly testing its patience? He is not a member of the Cockroach Janata Party. The main reason is that he has been vocal for several years in demanding statehood for Ladakh. He has called for Ladakh to be granted full statehood under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and has demanded a separate Public Service Commission for Ladakh. But, according to this argument, the people of Ladakh themselves do not want this. Their longstanding demand, it is claimed, was for Ladakh to remain a Union Territory, which is the current arrangement and something Wangchuk does not support. There are further controversies. Wangchuk reportedly received 17 acres of land from the central government to establish a school, for which, according to this account, payment has yet to be made to the government. More importantly, around 450 students from his school have so far passed the Class 10 examination under a curriculum developed by Wangchuk. The curriculum, however, is reportedly not approved by the CBSE Board. Wangchuk argues that the purpose of the curriculum is not merely to provide book-based education but to teach students practical life skills. However, critics argue that in any country, students educated under an unapproved curriculum cannot receive formal educational recognition for passing examinations based on that curriculum. The comparison is made to students graduating from unrecognized religious seminaries rather than government-approved madrasas. The “Deep State” Conspiracy Is Failing in India Look, politics is one thing, and mockery is another. Some opposition political leaders who have expressed enthusiasm for the movement have, according to this view, placed themselves in the same camp as large numbers of Pakistani and Bangladeshi followers of the Cockroach Party who are allegedly anti-India. One should not forget, the argument goes, that opposition forces in India have suffered setbacks whenever they have rejected Indian nationalism. Believe it or not, according to this assessment, no major Indian news outlet is giving significant importance to this movement. The Indian government has already shown considerable patience. At this point, the direction of the movement appears to be shifting toward demands for the release of Umar Khalid and slogans concerning “Azadi” for Kashmir. More than half of the protesters have reportedly already left the movement, accusing its leadership of being “self-serving.” Therefore, the movement appears to be nearing its end. That is why, according to this perspective, Wangchuk and other minor figures are now making irrelevant and unrealistic demands. One thing must be remembered: the alleged agents of the “deep state” have never been able to achieve anything in India, and, according to this argument, they will not be able to do so today either.

Author: Amit Goswami, Journalist and Writer, Kolkata