Indian government accepts demands - "cockroach movement" ends protests

The "cockroach movement" led by young Indians ended its weeks-long protests after the government accepted several demands. On Sunday (July 26th), municipal workers in New Delhi began cleaning up the protest site and removing the anti-government slogans on the walls.

AFP reported that the "Cockroach Party" promoted by social media called on thousands of demonstrators, mainly students, to gather at the iconic protest site in New Delhi, Janta Mandir. This became one of the largest anti-government protests in India in recent years.

The protests initially stemmed from issues related to exam cheating and educational reforms, and later expanded to include youth unemployment, insufficient development opportunities, and criticism of the governance methods of Prime Minister Modi's government. The protests that lasted for several weeks took a turn on Saturday (the 25th), with Education Minister Pradhan resigning and the government accepting other major demands.

After the demonstrators left that day, municipal workers spent the entire night cleaning the roads, removing the posters, and repainting the walls covered with slogans.

When some young people who had come from other places arrived, the protest had already ended. 19-year-old Takrelle came from the Central Province by train for 20 hours. He said that he first saw the live video on social media and was attracted by the protest atmosphere, the painted walls and the posters, and hoped to participate in it personally.

Another man who flew in from Mumbai believes that the government's earlier attempt to suppress the demonstrations actually led to the expansion of the movement, and it may cost the government political points in future elections.

During the protests, the demonstrators also set up a so-called "shame wall", posting photos and materials related to the police's dispersal operations. The demonstrators said that they had taken pictures of the content on the wall and hoped to continue spreading it through social media, so that this movement could be recorded and remembered.