The humiliating about-turn of Narendra Modi’s government in the face of unprecedented mass protests by young people, sneeringly dismissed as “cockroaches” by India’s chief justice, may come to be seen as a critical turning point for the world’s largest democracy and its autocratic leader’s 12-year rule.
In just 36 days from its formation on the suggestion of a blogger, the upstart Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had mobilised hundreds of thousands of students in protests about the leaking online of the NEET-UG, an entrance exam for just 137,000 places at medical, dental and veterinary schools. For millions, the exam represents the only route out of poverty and rising youth and graduate joblessness. To try to get through, families paid small fortunes for extra training for their children.
There are more than 753 million Indians under 30 and more than 371 million between 15 and 30, with 45 million students enrolling in higher education each year. But nearly 40 per cent of graduates between 15 and 25 are unemployed.
Expectations had been widely raised by Modi’s pledge to make India a developed nation by 2047, but although there was an initial huge uptake of recruitment into the technology industry, that has slowed down because of AI and machine learning tools. India’s economic model has appeared to stall.
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Inevitably, the protesters’ demands expanded to critique the whole education system and to demand the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who had repeatedly failed to tackle previous exam paper leaks. Concerned that the movement would spread, Modi conceded all their demands, including the resignation of the minister, criminal penalties for those responsible for leaks, reform of the testing system, promises not to prosecute demonstrators, and financial compensation for the families of students who had died by suicide due to the stress caused.
Although the next general election is not due until 2029, Modi may find rekindling the confidence of the lost cockroach generation a major challenge.
