‘Now or never’: Students defy Delhi lockdown to march on India’s parliament 

After two days of preparations, 18-year-old Anshuka Ruth Das set out early on Monday with a mission: To reach the Jantar Mantar protest site in the heart of India’s capital, New Delhi.

Joined by a group of friends, the student from Gurugram carried placards hidden inside a paper bag demanding sweeping reforms to India’s education system and an end to alleged corruption in national examinations.

The young women were among the thousands who answered the call of the Cockroach Janta Party, or Cockroach People’s Party (CJP), a new youth-led movement that has emerged as a major challenge to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to march to India’s parliament.

“We are here for those kids who died by suicide,” said Das, referring to reports that 12 students took their own lives since a paper leak scandal earlier this year.

India’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is a mandatory national-level screening test, based on which hundreds of public medical colleges across the country enroll students for various undergraduate medical courses. Some two million aspirants take the test annually. But this year, the exam was dogged by leak allegations.

When the government confirmed what millions had feared, the students – many exhausted from months of intense preparations – were forced to undergo retests.

The scandal rocked the country and coincided with the emergence of the CJP. Originally a parody account on social media mocking the remarks of a judge comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches”, the movement struck a chord with many across India. Its followers on social media swelled into the millions in a matter of weeks, with the speed of its soaring popularity leaving even its own founders stunned.

Leader Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University graduate from Maharashtra state, returned to India last month to steer the CPJ more proactively. Alongside mobilising supporters through sit-ins and planning further political action, Dipke and his colleagues joined the student aspirants’ demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“We wanted to be part of this movement. We want accountability,” said Das. “There are systems in place that cannot get us a good seat in college or good marks. I told my mother that it is my right to protest. We need to be here, else we will not get this chance again.”

With the protesters at the Jantar Mantar, many of whom had gathered overnight, expected to march towards parliament, authorities imposed extensive security measures across central New Delhi. Metro stations were shut, roads were barricaded and internet access restricted.

“The protest site has already run out of space, and this can lead to an untoward situation,” said Sachin Sharma, Delhi’s deputy commissioner of police, urging demonstrators to go home.

But as the march went on, police were seen using batons and firing tear gas to disperse CPJ supporters. Several protesters were dragged into police vans, with some sticking their heads out through the windows to show their bloodied faces.

“The protest was peaceful. But suddenly people started running in panic after a lathi charge,” said Mohammad Anis, a 26-year-old management graduate from Bihar, using the Hindi word for a baton.

“Many protesters were beaten during the chaos, and my arm and hand were injured. Despite the hurt, hunger and exhaustion, I believe staying silent in the face of injustice only allows it to continue,” Anis said. “The bitter tear gas smell made me breathless for a moment. But we are braving all this now.”

On Saturday, dozens of police officers forcibly removed veteran activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and took him to hospital, 20 days after the 59-year-old began a hunger strike in solidarity with the protest movement. The move angered protesters, with Wangchuk’s wife calling it “illegal detention”.

Analysts have cautioned the government over its response, arguing that protesters have genuine demands that resonate widely nationwide.

“The world is changing so fast. The jobs in the software sector that Indians prize most are vanishing. And the problems of joblessness and social inequalities in India are resurfacing with vehemence,” said Saba Naqvi, a veteran journalist who has covered Indian politics for decades.

“It is a reflection of the kind of scenes we saw in the movie Homebound [India’s official entry for the Oscars last year] where two young men are shown struggling to live amidst rampant unemployment and shrinking opportunities.”

Naqvi said the film mirrors life in today’s India, where survival has become a daily struggle, citing challenges such as caste-based discrimination, runaway inflation and widespread poverty that persist despite India’s strong economic growth in recent decades.

“And this reality happens to be more stark in the very areas where BJP [Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party] fetches votes in large numbers,” said Naqvi. “The party may have so far escaped the political consequences of the rising social and economic distress bedevilling the people, but it appears it is now confronting them finally.”

On Monday, CPJ spokesperson Saurav Das said in a post on social media that “the ⁠government had reached out for talks”, inviting two activists to meet Health Minister JP Nadda. “Our ⁠demands are ⁠clear. The youth has gathered in huge ‌numbers,” said the spokesperson.

Asim Ali, an independent political researcher and columnist, said the “willingness to talk suggests a significant climbdown”.

He cautioned, however, that “a quick resolution” was unlikely.

“We may see some extended talks. If the government drags it out, and the leadership splits, the protests might fizzle out, since they are not well-organised,” said Ali, noting that the leaderless nature of the movement recalls similar youth protests in Bangladesh and Nepal.

“The grounds of protest also seem to have expanded to include employment. It does reveal a chink in the BJP’s armour,” said Asim. “The government can no longer hide behind electoral majorities without addressing widespread concerns over education and employment.”

For Anjani Kumani, a 20-year-old protester from Ghazipur village in Uttar Pradesh, the movement represents a “rare opportunity” for accountability in Modi-led India.

“Either the education minister will resign, or we aren’t going to leave this place,” she said. “It’s now or never for us.”