'Don't mistake our patience for weakness': India's Gen Z group returns to streets

"Do not mistake our patience for weakness."

The Cockroach People's Party (CJP), a Generation Z movement that forced India's education minister to resign after two months of protests, is heading back to the streets. The group says the government has failed to follow through on most of the promises it made in exchange for an end to the demonstrations — the minister's resignation being the sole exception.

CJP issued a statement Monday announcing a large-scale march on Sept. 5 from India Gate in the capital New Delhi to Delhi Police headquarters, according to NDTV and Bloomberg.

Families of students who died by suicide following a leak of questions from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) medical school entrance exam, along with people injured by what the group described as excessive police force during recent protests, are expected to lead the march.

CJP said the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised on July 25 to compensate the families of affected students and drop charges against protest participants, but that more than a month later those commitments remain unfulfilled.

"Our goodwill must not become an opportunity for the government to betray us," the group said in its statement, adding that the march would be peaceful. CJP also called on university students and youth organizations across the country to join.

The group's unusual name traces back to remarks made by Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant in May, when he likened unemployed young people to cockroaches. Young people pushed back by reclaiming the slur and forming the CJP.

What began as something closer to satire quickly gained momentum as it resonated with young Indians. The group's Instagram following has since surpassed 23 million.

The NEET question-leak scandal brought CJP into direct confrontation with the Modi government. After allegations emerged of advance leaks and mismanagement surrounding the exam that determines admission to Indian medical schools, CJP launched large-scale protests in June.

The demonstrations lasted roughly two months and spread from New Delhi across the country. The Modi government ultimately agreed on July 25 to meet CJP's demands, and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down, bringing the protests to a close.

CJP, however, says the government has delivered on little beyond the minister's resignation. Compensation for the families of students who died and the withdrawal of charges against protesters remain the most prominent unresolved items.

The Modi government appears mindful of youth discontent. After the Supreme Court ruled that charges against protesters could be dropped except in cases involving serious legal violations, the government signaled its support for the decision.

Modi also used India's Independence Day on Aug. 15 to announce measures for university students and unemployed young people, in an apparent bid to ease tensions with younger voters.

Still, if large crowds again rally behind the march CJP has announced, the anti-government protests that were painstakingly wound down could reignite. India's Generation Z — which drove a sitting education minister from office through two months of street demonstrations — is once again turning up the pressure on the Modi government, this time demanding that its promises be kept.