He Risked Prison For a Joke. It Ignited a Movement. | NYT Opinion

Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Indian recent post-graduate living in Boston, never planned to start a youth movement in India. But when India’s chief justice, Surya Kant, called certain unemployed young Indians “cockroaches,” Mr. Dipke took to X and wrote, “What if all cockroaches come together?” The post went viral, inspiring Mr. Dipke to start the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led political movement. It came amid anger over India’s government scrapping the results of a national medical entrance exam taken by millions of students because of an alleged question-paper leak. More than 20 aspiring students reportedly died by suicide amid the fallout from the controversy. For many young Indians, the scandal was another sign of an education system where hard work doesn’t always translate into opportunity. As the movement gained momentum, Mr. Dipke flew back to India and began organizing nationwide, calling for the resignation of the education minister. In this video, Mr. Dipke shares three lessons he learned from leading the Cockroach Janta Party — and what young people around the world can learn from India’s Gen Z political awakening.