S ri-Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal- South Asian countries recently witnessed a revolutionary movement particularly led by youth. In India, hundreds of young people gathered at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for a protest against the system and the government. They address themselves as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). This is the youth-first uprising which reflects the South Asian trend of revolutionary movement.
Last month, during a court hearing, India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant criticized unemployed youth and compared them with “cockroaches” and “Parasites”. As a result, this triggered and outragedyoung people. Abhijeet Dipke, an Indiangraduate of Boston University, founded a satirical “Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)” with the slogan, “A political front for the youth, by the youth, for the youth”. Within a week, he launched a website and social media accounts (X, Instagram). In a very short time, the followers reached 22.2 million which is triple that of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC).
Behind the humor lies a deeper crisis. For decades, Indian youth have been facing unemployment problem, repeated question paper leak, recruitment process delay, and inhuman mental pressure from the entrance exam, for example, NEET. What makes the Cockroach Janta Party exceptional is not simply its unusual name or viral online presence, but its ability to transform individual grievances into collective political action.
The characteristics between the CJP and recent South Asian movements are striking. Sri-Lanka’s Aragalaya movement in 2022, Bangladesh’s July revolution in 2024, Nepal’s youth-led anti-government uprising in 2025, all are led by young people. These protests challenged political parties, raised questions about the government, demanding transparency, economic opportunities,and democratic reforms that expanded into nationwide movement. Like these movements, in India,the CJP has transferred the social media platform into a Political Organization and seeking to challenge institutions.
The emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) indicates a broader regional phenomenon: the rise of a generation that is politically connected, digitally mobilized, and increasingly unwilling to accept traditional forms of political representation. Across South Asia, young people are demanding transparency, accountability, economic opportunities, and institutional reforms. Their methods may differ, but their frustrations are remarkably similar.
At the same time, it is difficult for India to create a single revolutionary front and collapse the government due to its large geographical area, federal structure, political fragmentation, and different electoral system. In this case, India may face state-specific waves of mass mobilization on local grievances. The future scenario can be assumed that CJP asks for examination reform, recruitment transparency, employment creation, institutional reform and accountability. Now it is time to see that this mass mobilization protest turns into a revolutionary movement like Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal or not.
He writer is a student, Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University
