Why Are Students Protesting In India 2026? Thousands of Gen Z student protestors, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, a pseudo-political outfit, continued to gather in New Delhi on Wednesday even as authorities have cracked down on the movement.
India has one of the world’s largest youth populations, and the protests stem from Gen Z anger over youth unemployment and limited economic mobility, experts said.
The student protest started on June 6, demanding the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, blaming him for the exam paper leaks that happened in May.
The police have said that more than 100 personnel were injured in “violent protests.” The Indian home ministry did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The “Cockroach Janta Party,” a Gen Z-led movement that began after the Supreme Court chief justice compared unemployed youth to cockroaches, called for a peaceful march to parliament on July 20.
The Supreme Court refused to hear a plea on alleged police abuses against student protesters, saying, “Don’t waste our time.” The protests gained momentum on July 18 after Delhi police forcibly removed the activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike since June 28, from Jantar Mantar and admitted him to a public hospital.
The Cockroach Janta Party and protesters rejected the police account of large-scale violence, saying the police used force without any provocation.