Arabic version: احتجاجات تسريبات الامتحانات تتحدى حكومة مودي

According to The Guardian, a youth movement triggered by leaked public examinations and online mockery has challenged Narendra Modi’s political authority. The movement adopted the name Cockroach Janta party (CJP), after an X post by Abhijeet Dipke, an Indian student in the US, asked: “What if all cockroaches come together?” The post responded to remarks in which India’s top judge was said to have likened unemployed young people to insects and “parasites”.

For India’s nearly 400 million gen Z citizens, public examinations are often presented as a route to secure employment. The Guardian said leaked papers and cancelled tests have undermined that path. By June, CJP supporters were staging peaceful protests in Delhi and calling for the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Demonstrators also took part in a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 25 July.

The editorial said Pradhan became the first senior minister in Modi’s 12 years in power to leave office following a mass-protest movement. It said his departure followed credible reports that police officers attacked protesters marching to parliament, while security sources said officers had been attacked. The CJP has accused the government of breaking the terms of a settlement and said at least 100 people were arrested, many on non-bailable charges. The group is seeking the detainees’ release and has threatened a national remobilisation.

The Guardian argued that anger over exam corruption can cross religious divisions, uniting graduates facing leaked papers and qualifications that do not deliver secure work. It cited political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot, who described the CJP as a broader revolt by educated young Indians affected by jobless growth, poor education and insecure employment. The next general election is due in 2029, though the editorial said forecasting its outcome now would not be worthwhile.