What started as an internet joke is fast becoming young India's newest symbol of resilience, survival and collective frustration.
India's internet has a new political force. Meet the "Cockroach Janata Party," a tongue-in-cheek Gen Z online movement built around one very durable mascot: the cockroach.
On Tuesday night, the party's Instagram page hit 1 million followers and that has now jumped to over 3 million in a matter of hours.
What is the cockroach movement?
It all began on May 15 when the Chief Justice of India criticized India's youth — likening some of them to "parasites" and "cockroaches" — while speaking about fake degrees at a case hearing.
"There are youngsters like cockroaches who do not get any employment…some of them become media, some become social media, some RTI activists, and they start attacking everyone," he had said.
Within a day, Abhijeet Dipke, founder and convener of the Cockroach Janata Party, asked, "What if all cockroaches come together?"
Across Instagram and X, users are posting memes declaring themselves cockroaches. Several of India's opposition party members and former civil servants have expressed their wish to join the party online.
The immediate support for what began as an internet joke is reminding many of the Gen Z movements that toppled governments in countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. However, Dipke has no such plans.
"Let me make this absolutely clear. Do not insult or underestimate the Gen Z of India by making such comparisons. The youth of this country are far more mature, aware, and politically conscious than many give them credit for. They understand their constitutional rights and will express their dissent through peaceful and democratic means," he wrote in a post on Tuesday.
The movement is now planning its first virtual convention for the over 350,000 so-called party members who have signed up.
CJP blames BJP for hacking attempts
Dipke and other party members said there were several attempts made to hack into the party's Instagram account. Responding to the attacks, Dipke posted a reel accusing a "vishwaguru" or "global leader" of getting scared of 20 to 21-year-olds.
That was a thinly veiled hit at Indian Prime Minister Modi, who has often said that India has grown into a "vishwaguru" under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule.
In another post about the attempted hacking, the caption read: "BJP scared of cockroaches?"
The central ruling party has yet to respond to the formation of the satirical group.
'No longer a satire,' says Cockroach Janata Party founder
DW Reporter Shalu Yadav spoke to the man who created the Cockroach Janata Party.
Abhijeet Dipke told DW that while the movement came out of one, it was "no longer a satire or a joke."
"It's getting pretty serious," he said.
Dipke said that in his several interactions with young Indians, he heard frustration towards the state of India's political system and a sense of defeat.
"Now there is a platform for us. There is an outlet for our anger. And I feel that this is not something that has happened suddenly and I don't think it is just against the Chief Justice of India," he said.
"I think it's more about the complete political scenario, the complete political situation where people all these years were scared to speak against the power. And now they finally have found an outlet," Dipke told DW.
Dipke spoke at length to DW about how the movement came to be, his own perception of it and what he plans to do going forward.
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