World·PhotosSupporters of India's youth-led "cockroach" movement faced police batons and tear gas as they tried to march to parliament to demand the education minister's resignation.Police crack down on youth-led movement seeking educational reformsThe Associated Press · Posted: Jul 21, 2026 9:58 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.A participant wearing a cockroach mask attends a protest as part of a youth-led campaign demanding educational reforms, in Bengaluru, India, on Monday. (Aijaz Rahi/The Associated Press)Supporters of India's youth-led Cockroach movement said Tuesday they will continue their protest in New Delhi, refusing to leave their sit-in site a day after police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of them as they tried to march toward parliament.Hundreds of protesters remained camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India's examination system.WATCH | The origins of the Cockroach movement:India’s Cockroach Party: Frustrated Gen Zs prove hard to crushJune 22|Duration 4:39An online satirical jab at India’s government has exploded into a political movement on the streets. For The National, CBC’s Susan Ormiston breaks down the origins of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and how Gen Z frustrations are fuelling its rise."We are going to continue our protest," said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).Monday's confrontation between protesters and police has become one of the most significant moments in the CJP's two-month campaign, which began as a satirical protest but quickly evolved into a nationwide, youth-led movement focused on exam leaks, unemployment and government accountability.Activists and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party clash with police during a protest demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam irregularities in New Delhi on Monday. (Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images)Video of police beating protesters with batons and dragging demonstrators away spread quickly on social media, fuelling public outrage. A security force personnel wields his baton in New Delhi Monday. (Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)Some footage showed young protesters crying and pleading with officers not to hit them, while others captured a defiant scene of youths standing their ground and enduring baton strikes.Delhi Police said nearly 180 people were injured, including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters.Police detain a CJP supporter in New Delhi on Monday. (Manish Swarup/The Associated Press)Sona Bisht, a 20-year-old student who was part of the protest, said the confrontation with police had strengthened her resolve."If the government thinks that doing this with Gen Z, they can stop us, then that won't happen. We are here talking about education, talking about securing our future," she said.AnalysisIndia’s Cockroach Party shows frustrated Gen-Zers are hard to crushAnalysisIndia is going all-in on AI data centres. The environmental costs will have to waitAfter nearly a month of silence, the government made its first apparent move to engage with the protesters Monday, when a senior minister held talks with movement representatives. The outreach failed to ease tensions, with leaders saying they wanted action rather than assurances, including Pradhan's resignation, examination reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam irregularities.Dipke accused authorities of breaking their word, saying police resorted to a baton charge after protesters were invited for talks.Police use batons to disperse the crowd in New Delhi on Monday. (Manish Swarup/The Associated Press)Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement late Monday that the police action showed "how peaceful dissent is being suppressed in India.""The role of the authorities is to protect and facilitate peaceful protests, not to suppress them. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is recognized under international human rights law and the Indian constitution," it said.The movement, drawing students, professionals and families, marks a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in its third term, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and its use of force to respond to protests. It gained momentum over the weekend after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose three-week hunger strike has become a symbol of the protests, was forcibly taken to a hospital by police.Activist Sonam Wangchuk undertakes an indefinite hunger strike with Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, in the foreground, in New Delhi on July 14. (Manish Swarup/The Associated Press)Rabina Kashyap, a 26-year-old working professional, said she joined the protest on Tuesday after seeing police use tear gas and baton charges against students."I have nothing to do with this protest," she said. "But this is India, this is my country, and these are my people. So I will stand by them."Police detain a CJP supporter during the protest in New Delhi Monday. (Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press)