India's youth-led Cockroach movement vows to continue protest after police crackdown

Asia India's youth-led Cockroach movement vows to continue protest after police crackdown July 21, 20268:00 AM ET By  The Associated Press Supporters gather at the camping site of the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Shekhar Yadav/AP hide caption toggle caption Shekhar Yadav/AP NEW DELHI — Supporters of India's youth-led Cockroach movement said Tuesday they will continue their protest in New Delhi, refusing to leave their sit-in site a day after police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of them as they tried to march toward Parliament. Hundreds of protesters camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India's examination system. "We are going to continue our protest," said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, which emerged just two months ago. Sponsor Message The movement, drawing students, professionals and families, marks a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government in its third term, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and its use of force to respond to protests. Also Tuesday, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and dozens of his Congress party lawmakers staged a sit-in protest outside Modi's residence, marking a dramatic escalation. Several were seen fastening zip ties around their wrists. They are there to "demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday," Gandhi wrote ion X. The Cockroach movement began as a satirical protest but quickly evolved into a nationwide, youth-led movement focused on exam leaks, unemployment and government accountability. It gained momentum over the weekend after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose three-week hunger strike has become a symbol of the protests, was forcibly taken to a hospital by police. Video of police beating protesters and dragging them awa...