In July, Dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation as India’s Education Minister – the first major concession the government made after five weeks of youth-led protest. “Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country,” he wrote to the Prime Minister, he did not want the country’s students to remain “entangled in legal complexities” instead of building their futures.
It is proof of something generations before this one could not manage: that sustained, peaceful dissent still moves power in the world’s largest democracy. This is the story of how a population dismissed as lazy, useless, and up to nothing organised, endured police violence, and won.
The peaceful protests across India stemmed from the combined frustration of millions of medical aspirants and their families, and the wider public. The collective youth was fighting not only for the basic conditions needed to run a national examination fairly, but for the education system as a whole.
When half-baked solutions and promises keep failing to serve their purpose, and the same problems keep repeating themselves, people’s patience eventually runs thin. Education is the foundation guiding the growth of every individual in this country — the one chance, regardless of background, to change one’s life and contribute meaningfully to society. When that system, in one of the largest democracies in the world, becomes so deeply flawed that it repeatedly fails the citizens it was built for, where are people even supposed to turn?
The Root of It All
In the past 12 years, under the current government, there have been 89 paper leaks, according to publicly available data — 52 of them between 2021 and 2024, the years since the current Education Minister was appointed. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has cited a still higher figure: 152 leaks over ten years, and zero convictions.
Whichever count is definitive, the pattern is not new, and it is not confined to one examination — it has disrupted police recruitment exams and national entrance tests alike, including CUET, NEET-UG and UGC-NET, compounded this year by a CBSE on-screen marking controversy that added to the public’s dismay with the system as a whole.
These are examinations that students spend years preparing for, with study sessions running 12 to 16 hours a day, birthdays skipped, friendships put on hold, and everyday life set aside almost entirely in the meantime. Framed as “life-changing,” the mental pressure students carry through the entire duration of preparation- and of sitting the exam itself- is immense, especially for 15 and 16-year-olds who are still, in every other sense, children.
Add to this the financial strain of relocating to coaching hubs in cities far from home and paying steep academy fees, which often forces parents to take on loans and carry a heavy financial burden for years, sometimes mortgaging what little security they had for a single shot at their child’s future.
After the long study days, the financial pressure, and the long periods of self-doubt and exhaustion, students finally allow themselves a breath of relief after sitting the paper- only to be told, days or weeks later, that their effort, and their family’s sacrifice, has gone to waste through no fault of their own.
The paper leaks, arriving alongside the CBSE on-screen marking failures, became the trigger point for a public that was already frustrated on several other fronts: infrastructural collapses that have taken lives, entrenched corruption, a depreciating rupee, and a persistent rate of crime against women. Years of accumulated grievance came to the surface at once.
From Insult to Identity
Noting the repeated pattern of these leaks, the Cockroach Janta Party decided to take a stand. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical political movement, was founded on May 16, 2026, by Abhijeet Dipke, in response to the Chief Justice of India calling the youth of India “cockroaches.” The context of the use of the word ‘cockroach’ was limited to lawyers who were practicing without a license, as clarified by the CJI; yet, it struck a nerve for millions of young people across India. The insult was transformed into an identity, as the youth came together to call themselves cockroaches for surviving the country in the state it is in.
A broken education system, alarming unemployment, a strained economy, and crumbling infrastructure — despite all of it, the youth of India still perseveres, finding its own way through the metaphorical and literal filth. Despite it all, the Gen-Z cockroaches stand tall today in protests taking place across Indian cities.
Sonam Wangchuk, a visionary educator nationally and internationally celebrated for his selfless contributions to India’s students and citizens, went on hunger strike for 26 days with two simple demands: the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, and fair compensation for the families of students who died by suicide amid the NEET paper scandal earlier this year. Instead of a response, he was forcibly removed by police and relocated to a hospital. When the demands were met with silence and no sign of concrete action, CJP organised peaceful protests beginning July 19 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Similar protests soon followed in Mumbai, Kerala and Bangalore, spreading to cities including Pune, Nagpur, Kolkata, and Chennai as well.
The Crackdown
The protests were held peacefully, with a single, clear set of demands — the Education Minister’s resignation and compensation for affected families. Despite no incitement from the protesters’ side, on July 20, 2026, they were met with lathi charges and expired tear gas, deployed on people regardless of age, gender or disability.
In the days that followed, the brutality continued without any clear end in sight. Attempts to prevent information from reaching other cities — an internet ban, signal jammers — did not stop protesters from sharing footage as it happened.
Clips spread of six-year-old children being slapped by grown policemen, a young woman’s head injury from a lathi blow, a 21-year-old beaten to the point of being critical in the ICU, women groped and beaten by male police officers, and men with open head wounds. The illegal detention of protesters in Mumbai and Delhi, and the use of water cannons and tear gas in Bihar and Kerala, were documented by Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera, France 24 and The Hindu, among others.
What Held the Movement Together
Despite all of this, the solidarity of the country’s youth has won hearts. Children as young as five and six are accompanying their parents to the protests, standing tall despite the police violence around them. Gurudwaras opened their doors to every protester, offering sanctuary and langar, while blocking police from entering with lathis. Strangers across India and the world ordered hundreds of deliveries through Swiggy and Zomato with a single instruction: deliver it to whichever protester needs it.
People, regardless of age, religion or gender, have been protecting each other, distributing water and snacks, and fanning each other in the heat. Protesters form human chains whenever barricades come down, so that no one is left exposed to the police alone. Volunteer doctors arrive on-site to treat injuries, using medical equipment donated by the public, with none of it on any official roster.
While Gen-Z fought for its life and its rights, some of the country’s most prestigious institutions — the same ones that pride themselves on cultivating their students’ critical thinking — issued statements telling their own students and faculty to stop supporting the protests, asking them to submit to institutional norms rather than raise their voices. Many public figures, actors and singers among them, largely stayed behind their phone screens, often refusing to put out any statement at all until it was clear which way the government would move, unwilling to risk the safety of speaking first.
A Monumental Win, But What’s Next?
The ‘cockroaches’ of the country kept taking to the streets every single day, knowing exactly what the protest had in store for them each time they showed up. Risking their own safety, they stood by a clear, unwavering set of demands, fighting for their rights and for the integrity of their education. Unwaveringly, this generation – dismissed by its own government as the laziest, most useless generation to come along – managed to do something no one expected of it: fight for its rights, and fight for a better future than the one it was handed.
They stood strong, protesting in the same spirit Dharmendra Pradhan himself once had: in 1997, as a student in Odisha, he protested a state paper leak of his own, long before he sat on the other side of the table.
A movement that started in July and was met initially with agreement from the responsible bodies, is still going strong. In a public statement, CJP accused the government of reneging on the core commitments made on July 25, noting the lack of compensation reaching the families, and the failure to withdraw FIRs against protesters. In the face of these pending responsibilities, CJP announced a second march to be held on Teacher’s Day, 5th September, from India Gate to Delhi Police HQ (Rao, 2026; Economic Times, 2026) .
Despite this, there was no action taken by the government, leading to the Supreme Court invoking Article 142 to quash major FIRs against protestors and ordering for a compensation policy to be framed within three months, on 1st September (Gupta, 2026). But, this was not a clean win; as Dipke said, ‘The government has accepted the demands but it has to take responsibility that not a single student dies due to a paper leak’ (The Hindu, 2026). Further, there is mixed discourse surrounding Prahlad Joshi, the newly appointed Education Minister, based on past comments and involvement in previous cases.
As the protests concluded, serious questions are now being raised with regard to the force used by the police in the last few days. When policemen without badges or name plates, wielding nail-studded lathis, pellet guns, expired tear gas, freely, accountability for the actions must be taken, and the youth will not stop until it is.
We will continue to question the excessive amount of force used, the targeting of specific groups in the mass, and use of force against small children, mothers, and the elderly alike. FIRs against protestors were quashed, and compensation has been promised, yet there is no accountability for the police response itself.
With a spirit stronger than it has ever been, the youth of the country stands upright. This is just the start, for the citizens are not ready to back down yet. The voices will echo loud as the youth of the country continue to fight for their rights and improvements in every area- economical, educational, and social. They will continue to question when things are wrong, and fight for meaningful reforms to be made, ensuring that the future generations are handed a better system than the one they were given.
Our work here is not done, in fact, this is just the beginning. This protest awakened a generation; now that we know we can make a difference and have our voices heard, we won’t stop.
Because this is what cockroaches do — fight, adapt, and survive the seemingly impossible, for as long as it takes.
References
Al Jazeera. (2026, July 21). India’s “cockroach protest” movement halts marches after police violence.
Al Jazeera. (2026, July 25). India’s education minister resigns after weeks of ‘Cockroach’ protests.
Asim, M. (2026, July 22). “152 paper leaks in 10 years, zero convictions”: Rahul Gandhi targets government. NDTV.
Economic Times. (2026, August 25). CJP announces peaceful protest march on September 5 over unfulfilled July 25 commitments. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/cjp-announces-peaceful-protest-march-on-september-5-over-unfulfilled-july-25-commitments/articleshow/133465826.cms
France 24. (2026, July 23). India’s police accused of exercising “absolute brutality” against peaceful protesters.
Gupta, S. (2026, September 11). The CJP order and the limits of Article 142. Supreme Court Observer. https://www.scobserver.in/journal/the-cjp-order-and-the-limits-of-article-142/
Human Rights Watch. (2026, July 23). India: Excessive force used against student protesters.
Nadkarni, S. (2026). India paper leaks from 2004 to 2026 [Data set]. Kaggle.
Rao, A. (2026, July 27). CJP accuses government of reneging on deal, warns of fresh protest. India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/cjp-protests-centre-breach-no-action-deal-student-arrests-2957331-2026-07-27
The Hindu (2026, September 2). CJP chief hails Supreme Court’s quashing of FIRs against students. The Hindu.
The Hindu. (2026, July 22). Bihar police fire tear gas shells, lathi-charge protesting students.
The Hindu. (2026, July 23). Three days since July 20 violence, Delhi Police, MHA yet to acknowledge police excesses.
The Week. (2026, July 25). Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as education minister; hands letter to PM Modi.
Moitrayee Das is an assistant professor of psychology at FLAME University, Pune.