India's 'cockroach' protesters force resignation of Modi's minister
The satirical 'Cockroach People's Party' protests led to the resignation of India's education minister after exam leak scandals and violent police crackdown.
India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned in late July after more than a month of protests by the satirical 'Cockroach People's Party' (CJP). The protesters call themselves 'cockroaches' in response to a remark by India's Chief Justice, who compared youth to cockroaches.
The protests were triggered by repeated leaks of competitive exams, especially the NEET medical entrance test. Leaks forced cancellations, devastating poor students. Movement member Angad said 22 people committed suicide this year due to leaks, many under 18. 'These protests are so big because everything depends on education in India,' he explained.
On July 20, as about 50,000 protesters tried to march to parliament, police used force. Protester Arjun (pseudonym) said officers used tear gas and long wooden batons ('lathis'), even beating teenage girls. Videos circulating online show police beating people on the ground and throwing tear gas grenades. Other clips show protesters attacking police.
After the minister's resignation, protests became calmer, but fears of identification grew. Delhi police deployed facial recognition cameras near the protest site. Independent journalist Srishti Jaswal documented police vans with monitors showing zoomed-in faces from the crowd, including her own.
In Bihar state, protests were more violent – 93 police and 13 civilians injured, 694 protesters arrested, half minors. After negotiations with the CJP, the Bihar government dropped all charges on July 27.
