New Delhi (AFP) – Supporters from across India are literally feeding "cockroach" education-reform protesters camped in the capital, sending a deluge of pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and tea.
Issued on: 23/07/2026 - 12:38
3 min Reading time
As activists gather beneath tarpaulin sheets in New Delhi, often holding all-night political debates, singing or reciting poetry, delivery drivers from online platforms weave through the barricades.The supplies are being dispatched by supporters from as far as thousands of kilometres away who cannot join the protesters but are determined to help them.Since police moved to crack down on tens of thousands of protesters in Delhi on Monday, the food has barely stopped arriving at the camp, tagged Jantar Mantar after a nearby astronomical observatory."Thank you to everyone who is not here but sending food and water," volunteer Vuyom Chabbra, 26, told AFP."There is just so much of it," he said, gesturing toward piles of food parcels at the protest site in the Indian capital."But please send things that are more necessary. Yes, food is necessary, but if you see fans, masks, goggles, these are also very important right now."The mostly young demonstrators have occupied the protest site since last month to demand the resignation of India's education minister over exam-paper leaks.But what began as a grievance over the exam system has swelled into a broader expression of frustration among young Indians, drawing thousands onto the streets and triggering the biggest protests seen in Delhi in around five years. The protests are being led by the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement which was launched in May by public relations graduate Abhijeet Dipke, 30.TakeawaysTensions escalated on Monday after police fired tear gas and charged demonstrators with batons as they attempted to march on parliament during the opening day of the session.
