A casual remark by India’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant has sparked a satirical political movement, with thousands of mainly Gen Z internet users joining online within days.
The movement, known as the Cockroach Janta Party (“janta” means people in Hindi), was started by 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University public relations graduate, who found himself leading the campaign after the judge likened unemployed youth to “cockroaches” attacking the system, reports Al Jazeera.
The comment, made during an open court hearing last week, described some young people as “parasites” and “cockroaches” who have no employment or professional opportunities. Kant said some became media, social media, or RTI activists and started “attacking everyone.”
He later clarified that the remarks were aimed at individuals with fraudulent degrees, not India’s youth, whom he called “the pillars of a developed India.”
Despite the clarification, the comment triggered widespread anger among young Indians frustrated with unemployment, rising inflation, and socio-political divides after 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
In response, Dipke jokingly asked on X, “What if all cockroaches come together?” and created a website and social media accounts for the satirical Cockroach Janta Party, echoing Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Those in power think citizens are cockroaches and parasites,” Dipke told Al Jazeera from Chicago. “They should know that cockroaches breed in rotten places. That’s what India is today.”
The movement rapidly gained traction. The party’s Instagram account crossed three million followers in three days, while over 350,000 people signed up for membership via a Google form.
Among them are political figures such as Mahua Moitra, opposition parliamentarian from West Bengal, and former parliamentarian Kirti Azad from Bihar.
Retired bureaucrat Ashish Joshi was one of the earliest to join, citing the government’s crackdown on dissent.
“In the last decade, there has been a lot of fear in the country. People are scared to speak,” Joshi said.
“India has become so hateful that the Cockroach Janta Party is like a breath of fresh air. Cockroaches are resilient; they survive. Apparently, they can form a party and crawl over your system.”
The movement resonates with a generation already accustomed to global youth-led protests, following successful uprisings in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
India faces its own challenges, with an economy growing alongside historic unemployment, inequality, and high living costs.
About 29.1 per cent of the 8 million graduates produced annually are unemployed, and Gen Z constitutes more than a quarter of the population. Kant’s comment struck a nerve.
The remarks coincided with nationwide protests over leaked exam papers that led to the cancellation of a government medical entrance test, further fuelling frustration among students.
Prominent lawyer and rights activist Prashant Bhushan said the remarks revealed “deep-rooted prejudice and antipathy towards activists and youth.” He also criticised the government’s cronyism and corporate influence.
Dipke’s party has four-point eligibility criteria: unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and capable of professional ranting.
Its motto on X reads: “A political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth. Secular – Socialist – Democratic – Lazy.” The Instagram account describes the party as “a union of lazy, unemployed cockroaches,” and invites Gen Z participants to join.
The party’s manifesto satirically addresses alleged voter manipulation, a pliant corporate media, and post-retirement judicial appointments.
Dipke designed the look and manifesto in 24 hours, using AI tools including Claude and ChatGPT.
YouTuber Meghnad S, who hosted Dipke for a live stream, described the phenomenon: “The joke has taken a life of its own. People are looking for alternative political experiments that are not traditional.”
Meghnad added, “Cockroach Janta Party is satirical and non-existent, yet people see it as a better alternative to reality. Some join for humour, others because it reflects deep frustration.”
Dipke himself has been working without sleep to maintain momentum, running social media campaigns on political issues.
“For too long, people have been quiet in India,” he said. “There is a responsibility to take this moment seriously and not just laugh it off.”
