How Abhijeet Dipke became the face of India’s first Gen Z protest movement, and won
By Tora Agarwala
NEW DELHI, July 25 (Reuters) – These were just six words published on X in a moment of frustration:
“What if all the cockroaches got together?”
Now, 30-year-old author Abhijeet Dipke has become the face of India’s largest street protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government since he took office in 2014.
The political communications strategist’s May 16 post was initially a humorous response to Supreme Court justice Surya Kant’s comments likening India’s unemployed youth to “cockroaches” in a speech.
Kant later said that his comments had been misunderstood.
By then, Dipke’s post had gone viral.
A satirical platform called the “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP) emerged and provided a rallying point for millions of young Indians frustrated by high unemployment and exam paper leaks and seeking greater government accountability.
Last week, tens of thousands of people gathered in New Delhi and demanded the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leak of medical entrance exam papers in May, which affected nearly 2 million students and was linked to several student suicides. Pradhan resigned on Saturday: a major victory for young protesters and one of Modi’s biggest defeats.
Protests were also reported in other parts of the country, including the financial hub of Mumbai.
Dipke is at the center of everything.
‘VERY HUMBLE’ ORIGINS
Based in Boston, US, until early June, he returned to India to start a protest near the Jantar Mantar observatory in the heart of Delhi.
Since then – and especially after Monday’s police crackdown on demonstrators sparked public outrage – he has maintained a constant presence on a raised platform at the protest site.
Bearded and wearing a T-shirt and jeans, Dipke addresses the crowd of hundreds, urging them to remain peaceful as he puts pressure on the government.
Although CJP has multiple organizers, Dipke has become its most well-known face, receiving both admiration and criticism.
Dipke was born to a Dalit family in Aurangabad, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, one of India’s most historically disadvantaged communities.
“My father came from a very humble background. He grew up in extreme poverty. My grandfather was just a farmer,” Dipke told Reuters in May.
Dalit identity has long shaped his politics.
When he arrived in Delhi on June 6, Dipke held up a copy of “My Autobiography” by BR Ambedkar, a champion of Dalit rights and a key architect of India’s democratic constitution, as supporters and security personnel gathered around him.
Dipke joined the social media team of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020, where he said he developed a style of political messaging built around memes, humor and satire.
Although AAP and many other Indian opposition parties supported the movement, they are no longer affiliated with the party.
Dipke moved to the United States in 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in public relations in Boston, but continued to follow Indian politics closely.
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA POST TO ACTION
Dipke says he’s still trying to live up to his fame.
One of the first to amplify the movement was Delhi-based YouTuber Meghnad S. Dipke. Shortly after posting, she and a friend used: artificial intelligence Tools to create a satirical website announcing the founding of the Cockroach Janta Party.
“I saw the page and thought it was hilarious,” Meghnad said.
Her Instagram account amassed 22 million followers in a matter of days before recently reaching 25 million.
“That’s how organic it was,” Meghnad said.
But as the online movement grew, so did the risks.
Speaking to Reuters from Boston in May, Dipke said:
“This is a move to change India’s political discourse. India’s youth has largely disappeared from the mainstream political discourse.”
Dipke decided to return to India despite threats against him and his family. He said he will stay at least until the students get justice.
Dipke has remained at the protest site since June 6 as demonstrations have escalated and can often be seen calling on protesters to keep the movement peaceful, speaking to the media, or taking shortcuts.
(Reporting by Tora Agarwala in New Delhi; Editing by Aftab Ahmed and Gareth Jones)
