India’s 'Cockroach' Movement Targets Dilapidated Public Schools in New Challenge to Modi

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, addressed supporters during a protest in New Delhi, India, on June 6, 2026. The youth-driven pressure group has shifted its focus to auditing the conditions of under-funded government-run schools across the country following a successful campaign that forced the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, in July.

However, the new campaign has already encountered deadly resistance. In the Bankura district of West Bengal, 26-year-old Abdul Hafeez visited his primary school alma mater in Karisunda as part of the CJP audit. Hours later, Hafeez alleged that local workers affiliated with Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assaulted him and his 51-year-old father, Mohammad Mafik. Two days after the attack, Mafik died from his injuries.

Despite the tragedy, Hafeez remains steadfast in demanding accountability and educational reforms. While Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP chief minister of West Bengal, claimed the attackers had no connection to the party, the incident has dramatically raised the stakes for the movement. The CJP's 'Fix the Schools' campaign centers around a four-point checklist: drinking water and functional toilets, electricity and usable classrooms, boundary walls and campus safety, and midday meals and teacher attendance.

The group's unconventional mobilization strategy relies heavily on social media and digital volunteers rather than traditional political infrastructure, allowing them to bypass traditional organizational costs. Education-policy expert Samina Bano noted that the grassroots push has successfully brought systemic issues—such as chronic teacher absenteeism and poor learning outcomes—into mainstream political discourse. As the CJP pushes forward with its school audits despite administrative pushback and state restrictions in regions like Rajasthan, the movement continues to challenge the ruling government's education policies.