Indian Court Extends Detention of Two Cockroach Movement Leaders
An Indian court has extended the detention of two leaders of the Cockroach movement, a youth-led protest group, according to TIME, which reported the decision on October 20. The two leaders are Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
The New York Times reported on October 21 that the youth protests caught Prime Minister Narendra Modi by surprise when they first broke out in the summer. The paper said leaders of India's governing coalition, the group of parties that together run the government, are trying to frame the demonstrations as a power grab.
According to the same report, the movement began in summer 2026 over failings in India's education system and was revived in the autumn over accusations.
In July, Reuters reported that thousands of supporters protested in Delhi a day after violent clashes with police that injured 180 people. The following day, Reuters reported that the crowd at the protest site had grown to 5,000 by late afternoon, despite intermittent monsoon showers.
In October, Reuters reported that hundreds of people from the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party, young people in the generation often called Gen Z, had protested and sought the resignation of the country's election chief. Two days later, Reuters reported that the party had announced plans for a major rally in Delhi on October 10.
NBC News reported that India cracked down on the protests as anger grew against Modi and the election chief. On October 13, The Economist reported that the government had failed to crush the Gen Z protests, with the leader of the Cockroach party detained.
