The burning question on every Indian's lips is what the future holds for the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) agitation in Delhi and elsewhere. At the moment, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The protest may lead to regime change in Delhi, or it may fizzle out for reasons that are obvious and need not be enumerated.
For now, the protest is not going to die. Stopping it and detaining people will only prolong it, and chaos and uncertainty are clearly written on the wall.
The Modi government seems unable to grasp the extent of anger among the youth. Its use of force may prove counterproductive: the more force is used, the more the anger on the streets may swell. The protest is unlikely to end quickly unless the government opens negotiations with the protesters. Delhi cannot remain like this for months.
There is a similarity between the present situation and the one before 1975. Then, too, the youth were angry and frustrated over unemployment, a lack of jobs, rising inflation and falling purchasing power. Instead of addressing these basic issues, Indira Gandhi went to war with Pakistan and created Bangladesh. That did not solve the problems that were the root cause of the youth's anger.
Right after 2014, Narendra Modi set two priorities for dealing with the country's internal problems. First, he let loose Hindutva elements, the administration and the "Godi media" to constantly attack Muslims and portray them as enemies of the country. Second, he fed the people the toxic idea that Hindu religious nationalism is the panacea for all the country's ills.
Over the last 12 years or so, India has seen religious polarization to an extreme, and Hindu nationalism has made its way deep into society. But has demonizing Muslims and uniting Hindus solved the basic problems of the youth?
As the impact of these two factors is now assessed, the twin gimmick appears to be losing its sheen. This has led the BJP government to embrace the idea of electoral manipulation, removing the names of those who do not vote for the BJP.
But this is only the trigger; the real problem lies elsewhere. The government claims India is growing at 7.8 percent. This post-truth narrative of a "new republic" has ruffled many feathers, particularly among the young. The country's youth have invested more than 22 years of their lives in education, hoping for a decent job and an income with which to take up family responsibilities. Instead, they see a bleak future, with no jobs and nowhere to go. So they have decided to take on the government and point to the faults in its arbitrary policies.
The current protests in New Delhi and elsewhere can be compared with the mass protests of the 1970s against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The answer to those protests was the declaration of a national Emergency in 1975. The aftermath was more protests, which led to regime change after the 1977 elections.
Today's situation is much the same as it was before the 1975 Emergency. This leaves the Modi government with three options. First, declare an internal emergency and crush the protests. Second, stage a false-flag operation against Pakistan to divert public attention. Third, talk to the protesters and accept their demands: the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, scrapping the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and restoring the old electoral rolls.
Given the mettle of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, however, it seems clear that they are ready to gamble with India rather than talk to the leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party.
The writing on the wall is clear: Narendra Modi has become India's past, and the future belongs to the current generation of youth. According to former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, if national elections were held today, the CJP could sweep the polls in several states.
The Missing Secular Quotient
Indian Muslims, the biggest sufferers of the SIR process, are absent from the Cockroach agitation. The reason is that they have been sternly warned that their houses will be demolished if they join. Imams of mosques, who are otherwise not allowed to use loudspeakers, have reportedly been asked to announce over public address systems that no Muslim youth should join the CJP protest.
Not long ago, Muslims erupted in protest against the CAA and NRC in Delhi. The Shaheen Bagh agitation became the center of that movement, with Muslim women out on the streets. Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others emerged as leaders from the community. Today, no Muslim names are circulating in the CJP protests, and the agitation lacks the secular character of that earlier movement.
The farmers who led the 2020 protest have not yet joined the Cockroach agitation, even though they have called for support. Farmers are a huge section of the population, and their participation is expected.
Industrial workers and their trade unions are also silent on the CJP's SIR protest. They are watching developments but are missing in action, when their full strength is needed.
Faqirs and Sanyasis, who took part in the 1857 revolt and still exist as a caste group in the census, are also missing from the protests. Their names have been removed through the SIR process, yet there is no awakening among them to march to Delhi.
The most prominent absentees are the regional political parties, which are sitting on the fence. Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that the AIMIM will not join the protest. Other regional parties are keeping quiet, probably out of envy at the CJP's rise.
The only hope for the protesters is the Indian National Congress and its allies, who are taking part physically. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are leading the protest from the front.
There is another reading of the agitation: its lack of secular character. As it appears, the protesters are mostly Hindu, which means Hindu nationalism is now pitted against Hindu youth who have rejected such mindless ideas. They are daring the Home Minister and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to demolish their houses for protesting. Indians are waiting to hear the music that will follow once the bulldozers start rolling.
The CJP originated in remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who called unemployed youth "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a Supreme Court hearing on May 15, 2026. The remark angered the youth, who spontaneously formed the Cockroach Janata Party online. They exchanged ideas on social media, and their numbers grew rapidly.
The Intelligence Bureau flagged the online activity and rapid growth of the CJP as a potential threat to public order, prompting the central government to restrict its activities on social media. The activists refused to be cowed. They escalated their satirical online campaign into physical protests, forcing Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over exam paper leaks. They are now demonstrating against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation over the controversy surrounding the revision of electoral rolls.
Fingers remain crossed for the future of the CJP's protests. What comes to mind is the line from the poet William Wordsworth, who wrote of the French Revolution: "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven!" It aptly sums up the Cockroach Janata Party's agitation in 2026.
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*Journalist based in Chennai
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