What began as outrage over a remark by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) gradually evolved into one of the country’s longest youth-led protest movements in recent years. Over 36 days, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation transformed from a satirical campaign into a sustained protest that drew students, young professionals and citizens from across the country, keeping accountability and educational reforms at the centre of its demands.For CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, the turning point came even before the protest formally began. “The CJI’s remark will never go away from the youth’s mind, and that was the point when the youth of India collectively realised that they should be taken seriously. Even if someone calls CJP’s beginning a satirical campaign, one thing was clear — the anger of the youth against the government and the system,” he said while speaking exclusively with The Tribune.This shared sense of grievance soon translated into action, aided by social media. As demonstrations gathered pace at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, students across the capital and beyond began joining the protest, many of them initially as supporters on social media before becoming regular participants on the ground.Dipke said he was convinced early on that the campaign had the potential to grow after witnessing the public response.“The day I landed in India, I was sure of one thing that I was not going back or stepping back after the response the youth gave me. The very thought was to start the right thing for the right cause with the right intent,” he said. While organisers say the movement steadily expanded through June and July, participants believe several developments helped it gain wider attention. Undergraduate student Priyank, who first attended the protest on June 20 before returning repeatedly, said the movement reached a different level after environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk was taken from the protest site and shifted to hospital.“I feel it became much bigger after Sonam Wangchuk was forcefully taken to hospital from the protest site,” he said.For the CJP founder, that episode was also the movement’s most difficult moment. “It was, of course, seeing Sonam Ji being dragged away in white sheets into captivity, while I was standing on the truck and watching students and the youth of the country being beaten mercilessly by the police and security forces. Even tear gas and pellet guns were used on kids,” he said, recalling the point when organisers feared the campaign could lose momentum.