The insect deemed a menace, a nuisance or a pest can sometimes be the symbol of change, epitomising what the young can achieve when they unite.
In India, the ‘Cockroach Janata Party, CJP, which initially emerged as a youthful, jocular movement snowballed into a substantial platform demanding change, reforms, eventually bringing down a minister.
Reportedly, it was a disparaging comparison with the reviled insect that triggered the young to choose cockroach as their identifying label.
A close analogy can be found with the July movement in Bangladesh in 2024 when the term ‘Razakar’ meaning collaborator, was used in a tactless way, leading the young to pick it up as a rallying cry for the reform movement.
The ultimate result we all know – what began with demands for a few changes turned into a clarion call for a total overhaul, with the embattled government in place eventually falling.
The young all over the world are now vocal about what they want changed and India has been the latest place to witness how a small movement, begun on the net, with a predominantly humorous undertone, can swiftly metamorphose into a massive social phenomenon.
The CJP will remain a defining moment in the country’s political history because as we saw from news aired by international channels that at one point, parents whose children are still very young taking to the streets to express their solidarity with the young students.
A BBC report showed several young mothers contending that they had come to the protests driven by a desire to ensure a better education system for their children, who are still very young.
Again, another similarity with what Bangladesh experienced in July-August 2024.
When the campaign to have the quota system removed began in early July in Dhaka’s Shahbagh intersection, the common feeling was that this would soon fizzle out.
How wrong those initial assessments were and how lacking in sagacity.
The difference between what happened in Bangladesh and in India is that in the latter, the demand for the resignation of a minister was fulfilled.
If we recall, in our July-August uprising, in the first two weeks, the demand was for more transparency in filling government jobs, a repeal of the quota system plus the resignation of certain public figures.
Following the brazen killing of Abu Sayed along with the increase of brutal crackdowns, the drive to bring an end to the quota system morphed into something bigger, leading later to the single call for the government to step down.
Perhaps, keeping that in mind, and to avoid precipitating the situation, the Indian education minister decided to resign.
Certainly, a prudent move which may have prevented further escalation.
Government across the globe need to realise that they simply cannot expect the current day young to acquiesce to all that is glaringly wrong in society; just as they cannot expect the youth to be subservient, silent and obedient all the time.
The saying: ‘that is how it has been for centuries’ is now obsolete because the young are questioning norms, they are challenging ingrained systems which discriminate.
They are openly voicing discontentment over procedures giving legitimacy to something inherently unethical.
Latest reports say that in India CJP members are happy since their demands have been met but as far as we know, the call was for wider reforms including the end to the menace of exam paper leaks.
We are in an age when all elected governments need to have regular dialogues with the young to identify their concerns and to address issues which they perceive to be flawed.
Not all of their suggestions and thoughts may be rational but that is why regular interactions are essential, otherwise the powers stand to lose the common touch.
What happens when the disconnect between the masses and the power structure turns into a chasm is vivid in our minds as we are close to the second commemoration of the July-August Uprising.
Admit it, several few common factors unite all youths across the globe – they are driven by ideals, they have scruples and their sense of social integrity is untarnished.
As Shakespeare once said: virtue is bold, goodness never fearful!
