In May, when the internet was swept with Gen Z’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) memes expressing frustration with the education system, job market and the Chief Justice of India’s remarks calling youngsters ‘cockroaches’, many saw it as just a viral trend. Two months later, as scientist-activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike continues (day 25 on Wednesday), those memes have grown into full-fledged protests demanding accountability for the NEET paper leaks and CBSE marking controversy with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Students continue to gather at Jantar Mantar despite being tear gassed and lathi charged for, peaceful protests go on at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, and political tensions continue to rise as the Opposition joins in. Before Wangchuk’s statement last evening acknowledged the govt’s assurances of considering his demands, B’luru youth weighs in on the events.
I have a hundred political disagreements with CJP, but am with students. The protest lacks clear structure and ideology. Narratives keep shifting. What I appreciate is that CJP has brought privileged people onto the streets and managed what the Left couldn’t – mobilise a large body of liberal students. I don’t expect immediate results because non-violent protests work when those in power have democratic consciousness. Even if nothing changes today, I hope people remember 2026 when they vote in 2029.
Most revolutions were led by young people, including Indian freedom fighters. Gen Z is no different. I support this protest fully, but one thing I want to point out is that NEET has become the centre of the movement. I feel it is an issue that affects the upper caste and the creamy layer, while many other long-standing problems affecting marginalised communities, like Manipur and farmers’ issues, also deserve equal attention. Even fasting is a Gandhian form of protest, but, as Arundhati Roy said, ‘How do hungry people go on a hunger strike?’ So, it is also about privilege.
I have written competitive exams. It is not a cakewalk. It’s easy for people to say we should move on as the government has given us retests. But, think about people who are not privileged enough to take another retest and put up with faulty re-correction. The NTA has been embroiled in scams and leaks for years. Why aren’t they suspending the testing agency? We have many examples in Indian history of hunger strikes forcing governments to take action and listen to people; Sonam Wangchuk and the students’ hunger strikes have definitely triggered a lot of people from different political ideologies, without which we would not have seen these huge numbers. I hope this will inspire the current and future generations to be vocal about rights and stop being apolitical. We should stop fawning over our politicians as gods and question them.
With Gen Z protests, as a millennial, it would be unfair of us to burden the youth with our bitter baggage and pedantic ideas about morality. That approach failed our generation. That said, Gen Z doesn’t have the larger context some of us, especially those of who’ve lived through solidarity movements before, carry. I hope they’ll stay humble and open to learning from people with more mileage. That said, without their chutzpah and radical spunk, we’d be nowhere. We need them as much as they need us.
The CJP’s method of protesting is not harmful, but because some demonstrators are bringing up issues beyond the paper leak, it inadvertently gives the govt excuses to divert attention rather than directly address core demands. If the govt were to accede to CJP’s demands, they would gain massive support from Gen Z and young voters. The Indian govt’s seems unresponsive. Relying on clearing protest sites feels shortsighted. They met CJP’s spokesperson, but because the demands weren’t truly met, it felt like an attempt to pacify the public. I hope for a clear, genuine response so that citizens can rebuild trust and rely on the govt.
Wangchuk’s willingness to sit on a hunger strike showed that this wasn’t just a trend. CJP’s use of satire, memes and digital campaigns has been smart because it kept people engaged while making issues easier to understand and share. They could propose concrete reforms like third-party audits, stronger paper encryption and better oversight of testing agencies – having solutions makes it harder for policymakers to dismiss the movement.
While CJP brought youth rage and internet satire, Wangchuk’s fast gave the movement inter-generational weight and moral authority. However, escalating rapidly to Parliament marches opens the movement to police crackdowns; they would be more effective pairing street anger with concrete policy drafts. While a minister’s resignation is their headline demand, the real outcome should be overhauls of national testing bodies, independent exam auditing and compensation for affected students. Forceful police action and internet shutdowns may clear streets temporarily, but they rarely extinguish youth dissent.
One thing that really sets Gen Z protests apart is how fast everything spreads – a single post or video can reach thousands of people in minutes, making it easier to coordinate and show what’s actually happening on the ground. It’s also much harder for people to ignore these issues when they are seeing updates in real time. A lot of us care more about the issue than about which political party is involved. Most aren’t out on the street because they support one party or hate another one. They are there because they are worried about their future. At the end of the day, we just want accountability, fairness and to know that our voices matter.
(With inputs from K Sinchana)