More ways to listen Apple podcasts Spotify RSS Feed Download Presented by Helen Pidd with Hannah Ellis-Petersen ; produced by Saskia Collette , Alex Atack and Brian McNamara ; executive producer Eli Block Fri 24 Jul 2026 04.00 CEST Share 00:00:00 00:00:00 South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen on the Cockroach movement – and the students driving India’s biggest protests in years
‘I’ve never seen this many young people out on the streets,’ says Hannah Ellis-Petersen .
For days, tens of thousands of Indians have been marching under the banner of the Cockroach Janta party.
The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent tells Helen Pidd the protesters are reclaiming a slur after India’s chief justice reportedly referred to unemployed young people as ‘cockroaches’ and ‘parasites’. Their anger erupted after leaks of exam papers forced millions of students to resit tests. The scandals have also been linked to dozens of suicides in recent years.
Since then, the movement has gathered momentum, with protests against corruption and unemployment, and demands, at the very least, for the resignation of the education minister.
It is perhaps the biggest challenge to Narendra Modi’s government in years. But will this week’s concessions be enough to keep the Cockroach movement off the streets?