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‘I’m a cockroach’: Gen Z protest movement lands in Indian capital

‘I’m a cockroach’: Gen Z protest movement lands in Indian capital

New Delhi, India – Saurav Kushwaha, 17, packed just a change of clothes and boarded an overnight train with his elder brother to reach New Delhi early on Saturday from their village in central India’s Madhya Pradesh. The brothers rested on a footpath, waiting for Abhijeet Dipke to arrive from the United States. The anger in Indian youth – where half of the country’s 1.4 billion population is under 25 – has been simmering for a while now, exacerbated by paper leaks and discrepancies in the country’s largest school boards. And that anger seemed to have found an unexpected outlet in a satirical political party, the so-called Cockroach Janata Party (Cockroach People’s Party, or CJP), born out of taunts and jokes. The Indian chief justice’s comments last month equating the youth with cockroaches drew widespread ire. In turn, Dipke, a recent graduate of Boston University, pondered on X at the time: “What if all cockroaches came together?” It became a sensation on the Indian internet, making way for the launch of the CJP, a play on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dipke’s casual joke attracted more than 22 million followers on Instagram, double that of Modi’s party, which has been in power since 2014. But Dipke and hundreds of others who turned up in New Delhi on Saturday, demanding that Modi’s education minister resign, are not joking any more. “The warning to the Modi government is simple: get the education minister to resign,” Dipke said, addressing a swelling crowd. “Or we will not leave from here.” ‘All cockroaches, assemble!’ Part of this movement is Kushwaha, the student from Madhya Pradesh, who has just cleared the 12th school-leaving exams from India’s Central Board of Secondary Education. The process had been mired in controversy over several discrepancies, including digital marking on the answer sheets. Advertisement He is not sure if he can afford higher education, but Kushwaha is angrier about the government “that has been indifferent to the people who voted them to power”. The school board’s fiasco came just a week after the top medical examination for graduates was cancelled after the paper was leaked. Such events, the distraught students say, are an annual affair, with no political accountability. After gaining online traction, Dipke’s CJP first tapped on the youth’s anger to galvanise support for the movement. The party had called for “all cockroaches to assemble” at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in the capital, to demand Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. “I followed them on Instagram for fun,” Kushwaha said among the crowd. “But there is a chance that we can actually get the minister to resign.” That would be a first for Modi’s 12 years in power, if and when it happens. India’s Gen Z population – the largest such cohort in the world – has only seen the rule of Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP. Critics say the government has criminalised dissent, with India slipping in multiple democratic indices since Modi rose to power in 2014. Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party was overwhelmed by supporters during a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday, where demonstrators demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan [Yashraj Sharma/Al Jazeera] A season left behind Still dressed for the chill he had left behind in the US, Dipke stepped into New Delhi’s sweltering, oppressive heat in a black zip-up hoodie, with a cap pulled low over his face. Pushing through a crowd of cameras jostling for a glimpse, Dipke reached for the mic and gestured to the crowd to erupt in slogans. Drenched in sweat, he shrugged off the hoodie. In his opening words, Dipke recalled the anxious overnight flight, saying his family feared he would be arrested after landing in New Delhi. “But this is not a fear only of my mother,” he said, as the crowd shouted, “Shame!” “Every mother in this country fears that if one talks about politics, speaks against this government, [they] will be arrested,” he added. The Modi government has jailed several human rights and student activists over the last few years, in what the opposition and critics of the government say is a slump towards authoritarian rule. The BJP and the Modi government reject these allegations, insisting that they have followed the law of the land and the constitution. For Dipke, 30, who left for the US two years ago to pursue higher studies in public relations, it has been a quick turn of events as he finds himself leading a political movement out of nowhere. In his interview with Al Jazeera last month, Dipke said he felt a responsibility for the overwhelming response his initiative has garnered. Advertisement Standing exhausted from the heat, Dipke handed over the mic and fell back against a wall to drink water, tossing his remaining bottle towards the crowd. “I love you, Abhijeet,” a young protester shouted. Several protesters, wearing a cockroach mask, turned up with roses or bouquets in their hands and carried books, as Dipke’s party had asked them to on social media. “To everyone who believes that Indian youth only post on social media, come down here and see this,” Dipke said later, now donning the Indian cricket team’s blue jersey. “And to those who think we will go away after shouting, I want to say: we are cockroaches and we will stay until the minister resigns.” Saurav Kushwaha (right), 17, travelled from his home in Madhya Pradesh via overnight train to attend the Cockroach Janta Party’s first protest in New Delhi on Saturday [Yashraj Sharma/Al Jazeera] ‘Get on streets’ Mohammad Aftab, a 28-year-old gig worker from one of Delhi’s satellite townships, climbed a tree to catch a clearer view of Dipke. He said he could not complete high school due to economic struggles, and instead delivers groceries for a living, with no social security net. To leave a day’s work could mean no dinner, said Aftab, wearing a cockroach mask. “But still, I wanted

Activists disrupt German military exhibit over arms sales to Israel

Activists disrupt German military exhibit over arms sales to Israel

NewsFeed Pro-Palestine activists interrupted an army recruitment event during German Armed Forces Day. They climbed onto a tank and unfurled a banner reading ‘Genocide with German weapons’ and named Rheinmetall, a key arms supplier to Israel’s military. Read more Published On 6 Jun 20266 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill 10 people, including high-ranking soldiers

Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill 10 people, including high-ranking soldiers

At least 10 people, including high-ranking soldiers, have been killed in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, days after the countries agreed to a conditional truce during United States-mediated talks. Lebanon’s army said on Saturday that two officers, a brigadier general and a captain, as well as a soldier, were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The Israeli army said in a statement that the attack had been in an “active combat zone”, and that “movement in a combat zone requires coordination” with the Israeli army. It added that “the incident remains under investigation”. Following the attack on its soldiers, the Lebanese army said that “the continuation of the deliberate and repeated brutal Israeli aggression … is aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution”. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack and said in a statement posted on social media that his office considered the attack a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of international laws and norms”. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the attack, describing it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people”. In a statement, Salam extended his condolences to the families and colleagues of Brigadier General Wassam Sabra, Captain Elie Khoury and soldier Hussein Ghozal, as well as to the Lebanese army itself. The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah dubbed the attack a “heinous crime” and accused the Lebanese government of exposing its own country to bloodshed through its “complete surrender to the enemy’s demands in Washington”. Advertisement “This is not the first time that Lebanese army soldiers or officers have been killed,” said Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Beirut, adding that more than 50 have been killed since the start of the conflict on March 2. However, “this is the first time that such a high-ranking general was killed.” A lot of rhetoric has come from Lebanese officials, “but there’s nothing that the government can do. A few weeks ago, more than 13 national security personnel were killed and nothing was really done by the government,” said Hashem. “The only thing the government could do over the past weeks was to withdraw its troops from the southern villages and towns that, at the moment, the Israelis are approaching.” Lebanon’s ‘real foe’ Separately, an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Saksakiyah, in the Sidon district, killed six people and wounded four others, reported state-run National News Agency (NNA), while another person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the highway in Deir al-Zahrani, in the Nabatieh district. Israel also renewed forced displacement orders for the southern Lebanese villages of Armati, Mashgara, Kafr Huna, Sajad and Ansariya, ordering residents to move north of the Zahrani River. Hezbollah, meanwhile, said its fighters struck a Merkava tank at the newly established Blat outpost in the Bint Jbeil area using an Ababil swooping drone, claiming a confirmed hit. A ceasefire that was supposed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has never been fully respected. Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged accusations of truce violations, with each side justifying its own attacks by citing the alleged violations committed by the other side. A further conditional truce was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys this week in Washington. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected this ceasefire as it did not include Hezbollah or provide for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. While Israel and Hezbollah continue to fight, the Lebanese army has historically avoided confrontations and has not engaged in the current conflict. The latest outbreak of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began at the beginning of March after the group said it was acting in support of Tehran. At least 3,558 people have been killed and 10,870 others injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry. On Saturday morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected comments made by President Aoun that Beirut was a bargaining chip for Tehran during its negotiations with the US. Advertisement “Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago,” he said in a post on social media. “Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr President.” Adblock test (Why?)