Photos: Police fire tear gas at India’s Cockroach movement supporters

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing news agencies and photo captions from New Delhi, reported that Indian police used tear gas and batons on Monday, July 20, 2026, against supporters of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party as thousands tried to march toward Parliament. The confrontation took place near Jantar Mantar, a designated protest area roughly 2km from Parliament, after demonstrators attempted to push past security barricades.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, changes to India’s examination system, and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after exam-paper leaks. The crowd described by Al Jazeera included students, professionals and families with young children, and images from AP, Reuters, AFP and others showed injured and detained protesters as police dispersed the march.

According to the report, the Cockroach Janta Party grew out of a May controversy after India’s chief justice likened some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing. Supporters adopted the term as a satirical identity, building a large online following and linking it to anger over repeated leaks in competitive exams for medical colleges and government jobs.

Al Jazeera also reported that the movement has maintained a protest camp at Jantar Mantar for about a month, with members of student groups joining activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike before police moved him to hospital on Saturday. The episode matters because it connects youth unemployment, exam integrity and public trust in institutions with a growing protest movement in the capital.