"Cockroach" is suddenly an in-word in India, thanks to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who used it during a Supreme Court hearing on 15 May 2026. He meant it in a particular context, but the derogatory remark provoked unprecedented backlash. It led to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a parody social media account founded by political communications strategist Abhijeet Dipke.
Its meme-fuelled satire gathered millions of followers and grew into a social movement on disenfranchisement, press freedom and corruption. At first its influence was far greater online than on the ground. Today its members are out on the streets, and they show no sign of stopping. Gen Z is showing the way!
On the afternoon of 25 July, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan finally submitted his resignation. It was a key demand of the CJP and of thousands of agitating students and young people across the country. There were massive celebrations, and the protests at Jantar Mantar were called off. Pradhan has long been a controversial figure: a 2019 Caravan article described him as the BJP's "money man," and ONGC reportedly gave Rs 668 crore in CSR funds to RSS-linked organisations when he was Petroleum Minister. His resignation, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The protesters want much more. Gen Z is showing the way!
2 October 2026, Gandhi Jayanti, was a memorable day. We must always celebrate the Father of the Nation, but too many official programmes are high on photo-ops and lip-service and low on substance and action. This year was different. India's youth rose as never before, with a new awakening and a greater determination, and the talk was of a hope-filled tomorrow. Gen Z is showing the way!
They were on the streets in large numbers. They sang, they danced, they quoted shayaris and shouted slogans, and their confidence was unmistakable. Their "do or die" spirit recalls Gandhi's fiery speech at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now August Kranti Maidan) in Mumbai on the night of 8 August 1942, which launched the Quit India Movement. "There is a mantra, a short one, that I give you," he said. "Imprint it on your hearts, and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is: 'Do or die.'" That spirit marks today's youth as they sing, "We shall overcome! Hum honge kamyaab!" Gen Z is showing the way!
Something remarkable happened in Ahmedabad, the home turf of Modi and Shah. On 2 October, more than 200 young people gathered outside the Gujarat University gate with clear demands: they wanted the Chief Election Commissioner and the Government to go. They also shouted slogans against the rape culture permeating society. "Down, down patriarchy!" they chanted, with "Nari Shakti" as their watchword. Weeks earlier, on the evening of 21 July, hundreds of students had walked together singing as if on a picnic, shouting "Modi hatao, desh bachao!" People rubbed their eyes in disbelief, for this was Ahmedabad of all places. Some were detained. On 2 October the police were out in huge numbers but seemed to have been told to stand back, and they watched like silent spectators. Gen Z is showing the way!
Gandhi for Gen Z: The Mahatma Is Suddenly Cool Again, a thirty-five-minute documentary by The Hindu, leaves one spellbound. With interviews and comments from some of the nation's finest minds, it argues that Gandhi's vision and ideals remain relevant. Gen Z has its own idiom for them. There are sit-ins and fasts, as with true satyagrahis, and there are dharnas and protests. The difference lies in the humour, the songs and the slogans. Gen Z is showing the way!
They are articulate and well informed, with facts and figures at their fingertips. At noon on 7 October they held a well-attended press conference at the Press Club in New Delhi under banners reading "Gyanesh, it's done, bro!", "United Struggle Against Vote Chori" and "Onwards to Jantar Mantar." The large media turnout was stunned by the poise of Neha Bora (AISA president), Saurav Das (CJP co-convenor), Ratna Singh (CJP spokesperson), Adarsh Saji (SFI president) and Viraj (AISF president). They would put any media-savvy politician to shame, not least the Prime Minister, who has never had the courage to face a press conference. Gen Z is showing the way!
Gen Z is visible and vocal. They use memes, cartoons, Instagram and Facebook, and they are creative, innovative and always a step ahead. Asked recently where they get the money to fund their protests, one of them shot back, "From the PM CARES Fund." No one believed it, but it left the questioner floundering. No one knows how much the PM CARES Fund has raised, or how and for whom it is being spent. It was a clever tactical move that changed the narrative. Gen Z is showing the way!
The language of the protests is distinctly internet-native. Young protesters defied intimidation with memes, Gen Z slang, creative posters and dark humour aimed at the government and the police. For many, Instagram videos became the go-to source of information and a way to counter disinformation. Bollywood celebrities voiced their support, and people from India and abroad sent food, water and supplies to the protest grounds in solidarity. Gen Z is showing the way!
They lead the resistance, they epitomise resilience, and they leave no stone unturned. Early on 13 October, CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and other volunteers entered the barricaded Jantar Mantar site carrying the national flag. Police detained them. "Jantar Mantar has been reclaimed!" Das declared on social media. This followed Delhi Police's decision to strip Jantar Mantar of its status as a protest venue and name Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as alternatives. They stop at nothing. Gen Z is showing the way!
Then there is Neha Bora, a feisty young doctoral student whose heart is in theatre. She has been visible and vocal throughout, fluent and clear in both English and Hindi, and she is convinced that the movement will not give up. On 10 October, after police blocked demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar, she urged them to regroup at Dilli Haat, a crafts market 10 km away. "Dilli Haat becomes Jantar Mantar today," she wrote on X before setting off, chanting slogans as others followed. Police detained her along with several other activists. Even in detention she urged the protest to go on. "I am in detention. The movement is not," she said in a video posted online, telling supporters who had been stopped to protest wherever they were. She was later released. Neha has become the face of the protests, and a woman's face at that. Gen Z is showing the way!
Protests have, of course, been held across the country for years. Small farmers have come out in thousands against the Government's agricultural policies, and human rights activists and civil society leaders have taken on the Government at great personal risk. This movement is different. Gen Z seems to have awakened to the grave state into which the nation has been pushed, and young people have left their comfort zones to take a stand. They are giving new hope and impetus to everyone, including the opposition parties. One thing is certain: despite deploying the police and other forces, the Government is rattled and does not know how to deal with the nation's youth. Gen Z is showing the way!
Gen Z is showing the way to a new and better India. They are fighting corruption and communalism, exclusion and exploitation, denigration and division, and the rot in our educational and electoral systems. They want an India where truth and justice, liberty and equality, fraternity and diversity, and secularism and socialism reign supreme. They want a country where the mind is held high and knowledge is free, where constitutional values are guaranteed and the democratic ethos is protected. They are convinced that "we shall overcome."
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Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist, trainer and writer
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