Jubilant protesters danced and sang into the night at Delhi's Jantar Mantar after India's education minister resigned, bringing an end to a five-week satirical protest that became the most visible expression of public anger against Narendra Modi's government in years.
Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation on X in a post in Hindi, saying he “respected the aspirations, dreams, and expectations of the youth” and was “pained by the events” of the past few days. He wrote that he had submitted his resignation to the prime minister to prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the situation and to ensure that “not a single Indian student’s future gets entangled in legal complexities”.
“India's Gen Z 'cockroach' protesters force rare resignation from Modi government.”
As news broke, a visibly emotional Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), screamed from the makeshift stage: “We have done it.” A loud cheer went up, and huge celebrations erupted with protesters singing, dancing, shouting slogans and handing out sweets.
The CJP is not a real party but an online satirical campaign with an AI-generated cockroach as its mascot, born after the chief justice of India described some unemployed young people as “cockroaches”. It evolved into a powerful platform for young people's anxieties and dissent, and the five-week protest gained momentum after Monday's police crackdown on people marching to parliament left dozens injured.
The catalyst was a leak of the medical entrance exam (NEET) that affected some two million students in May and has been linked to several student suicides. The CJP demanded Pradhan's resignation over the lapses.
For a decade, Modi has governed as a strong, decisive figure who admits few mistakes, and his government had long resisted sacking ministers under pressure. Indian farmers had to protest for nearly a year before Modi repealed contentious farm laws in 2021. Pradhan is only the second minister to resign under public pressure since Modi came to power; the first was MJ Akbar in October 2018 over sexual harassment allegations. In contrast to other democracies where unpopular ministers often step down — as when Andy Burnham became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade — Modi's administration has been known for not bowing to public pressure.
The first test of this youth protest victory could be in elections next year in three key states, according to analysts.
Several hours after the CJP announced the end of their protest and its leaders left the site, crowds were still gathered at Jantar Mantar into the night, with volunteers doing their best to manage the party-like atmosphere. Police deployed around the area said they would intervene only if they saw breaches of the law.
The Channel 4 News reported that the campaign began just two months ago and that leaders say the government has accepted all their demands — but questions remain whether the protests will really cease. As one protester told the BBC: “We had waited for this day for weeks, and we were not in the mood to leave without celebrating.”