NEW DELHI (AP) — The protest camp came to life as student demonstrators rolled up their bedding after another night under the open sky. At the heart of the camp, activist Sonam Wangchuk lay inside a tent, his weakened frame showing the toll of weeks on hunger strike.“If not fasting, what? Riots in the streets? That’s what we don’t want to do. So this is a peaceful way to take your voice to the government,” Wangchuk said on a recent afternoon as worried supporters checked on him.The 59-year-old has become an unlikely symbol of India’s Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that erupted online two months ago and gained momentum over alleged leaks on social media in the country’s fiercely competitive college entrance exams.With the hunger strike in its third week, organizers are racing to keep pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which they accuse of ignoring their calls for the education minister’s resignation.“There has been no kind of response from the government. They have left Sonam Wangchuk to die,” said Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University student and founder of the Cockroach Janta Party.
Online outrage becomes a street movementThe movement began in May after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during a hearing on another issue. Supporters embraced the insult as a badge of resilience, turning it into a satirical political campaign that amassed more than 21 million Instagram followers in a few days.
