“What if all the cockroaches come together?” That was the one-line tweet, put out by Boston-returned Abhijeet Dipke, on May 16, 2026. In less than two months, we are witness to the ‘cockroaches’ – India’s youth -- coming together to protest at Jantar Mantar, and in different parts of the country. 

But this student protest against endemic exam paper leaks is not the first show of mass dissent against the Narendra Modi government. Before this, there has been a farmers’ movement, the anti-CAA protests, and several other protest mobilisations by workers, Dalits, and adivasi communities. 

The government has weathered all of these protests comfortably. But the big question: is the students’ movement different? Is it a political challenge unlike any that the Modi government has faced during its 12 years in power? 

Guest: Saroj Giri, Associate Professor of Political Science at Delhi University

Host: G. Sampath

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Camera: Jude Weston

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