Why are thousands of people protesting in Delhi?

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Why are thousands of people protesting in Delhi? Image source, ReutersByMichael Sheils McNameePublished27 minutes agoIn India, tens of thousands of Gen Z protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Delhi, calling for the resignation of the country's education minister. Starting as a satirical online movement just a few months ago, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is now one of India's most visible youth movements.

Here is what you need to know. Follow the protest liveWhy are thousands of people taking part in youth-led protests in Delhi? Despite its humorous origins, the CJP group quickly became a lightning rod for India's disaffected young people.

The Details

The movement is led by Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old political communications strategist and former student at Boston University. He has said that the movement was started as a joke, but after offering the option to sign up to the movement through a Google form, he received tens of thousands of responses. This propelled it forward into becoming a serious protest group.

The trigger for Monday's protests came from the treatment of Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known engineer and activist, who had been on hunger strike for 20 days in support of the CJP party at Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory in Delhi, which is often the site of protests. On Saturday, the 59-year-old was forcibly taken to hospital, prompting CJP leader Dipke to call on protesters to march on India's parliament on Monday. Image source, ReutersImage caption, CJP supporters have called for the release of Sonam WangchukWhy are they called 'cockroach' protesters?

The name of the Cockroach Janta Party (the Cockroach People's Party) came about in response to comments made by India's Chief Justice, Surya Kant. During a hearing, he allegedly compared unemployed young people drifting towards journalism and activism to cockroaches and parasites. He later clarified that he had been referring specifically to people with "fake and bogus degrees", not India's youth more broadly.

What Experts Say

The name is a parody of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 2014. Spilling off the internet and into real life, young volunteers to the movement have turned up dressed as cockroaches at clean-up drives and protests. What does the CJP want?

The CJP is mostly protesting over issues they have with India's education system. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is India's main entrance exam for admission to medical colleges across the country. 28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May, having studied for months - in some cases years - for the notoriously difficult paper.

However, days later, it was cancelled after allegations that the questions had been leaked. It was a big blow to aspirants, who had to resit the exam under tight security weeks later. Anger over this was one of the reasons the CJP began its protest.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.