24 May,2026 08:08 AM IST | Mumbai | Tanisha Banerjee
Hemshree Antani (third from left) appreciates her Gen Z’s work ethic, even if it is different from hers. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE
When Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly compared unemployed youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites", the backlash was instant. But among the memes and outrage emerged a political movement. On May 16, 30-year-old Indian political communication strategist Abhijeet Dipke launched the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) from the US. The CJP became a satirical but sharp response to a generation increasingly feeling abandoned by the systems meant to support them. Within days, the party's Instagram crossed 1.5 crore followers - overtaking the BJP's follower count - while its X account was withheld in India after gaining over 2.2 crore followers in a week.
Behind the absurdity of the name lies a real frustration. CJP's demands for jobs, fair exams, accountability, and an end to divisive politics struck a nerve in a year already shaken by the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, which disrupted the futures of over 23 lakh aspirants. The movement tapped into the youth's simmering exhaustion of competing endlessly in a system where even "entry-level" jobs demand years of experience.
India currently has one of the world's youngest populations, with nearly one-third of its people between 15 and 29 years old. Yet youth unemployment remains alarmingly high. According to the March 2026 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), unemployment among Indians aged 15-29 touched 15.2 per cent in March 2026, while reports by Azim Premji University found that 67 per cent of unemployed youth are graduates.
For 21-year-old Mumbai graduate Rishi Pinjani, the anxiety is at his doorstep. Having completed his Bachelor's in Mass Media just two months ago, he has been job hunting ever since. "It makes me feel sad because we are only grappling with the world we have been left with," he says, "I'm privileged enough to have my parents' support for a few years, but many people don't have that option."
Pinjani says the rise in content creation and entrepreneurship among Gen Z is less about glamour and more about survival. "People think everyone wants to become creators because it's easy or fun. But it's one of the few things where you can start with very little and still hope to build something." Like many fresh graduates, he constantly finds himself competing against applicants with years of experience for so-called fresher roles. "You don't want to be exploited, but you also don't want to be unemployed," he says, "That's the trap. The worst part is I see so many fresher jobs on LinkedIn, but the comments are from people with far more experience than me."
To him, Gen Z's reputation for being "lazy" or "difficult" ignores a harsher reality. "We are just a generation with standards," he says, "They call us cockroaches, but they still want us to buy their products, follow their trends, and build their companies. If we are angry, it's because the world being left to us feels impossible to survive in."
Hemshree Antani, a manager of team of four Gen Zs, lauds the passion and integrity with which the young generation enters into the workforce
Hemshree Antani, a PR manager at an agency largely staffed by Gen Z employees, negates the stereotypes surrounding the younger workforce. "We did have preconceived notions in the beginning," she admits, "There's this belief that if Gen Z doesn't like something, they'll immediately leave. But when they genuinely care about the work, they give it their hundred per cent." Working in an industry that constantly evolves, Antani believes Gen Z's adaptability and urgency are strengths rather than flaws. "They are extremely solution-oriented. If a problem comes up, they want to solve it immediately. If you train and guide them well, that energy becomes a huge advantage for the company."
She says the friction many older employers experience comes more from a generational shift in work culture than an "attitude problem". Unlike the notion that associated long hours with dedication, Gen Z employees prioritise productivity over performative work. "Personally, if the work is done well, it doesn't matter to me whether someone comes in at 11 and leaves at 4," she says. Antani also believes previous generations have been unfairly impatient with Gen Z workers. "They are incredibly talented, but the system hasn't groomed them correctly. Expectations are high, opportunities are limited, and there's very little kindness or patience extended toward them."
Asmi S believes the older generation wants to blame the youth for systematic failures
The struggle to find stable work after graduation has been filled with exploitation, unrealistic expectations, and constant judgment for 20-year-old Asmi S. Having worked since 2023, she has been freelancing in theatre while trying to secure jobs in advertising and performance spaces. "Once hiring people hear your age, they try to underpay you while also overworking and exploiting you," she says, adding that many companies expect "a fresher with four years of experience," while dismissing internships entirely.
One experience left her especially disillusioned. Asmi was promised R10,000 for a one-week trial for a job at a company but ended up working there for over two weeks, creating multiple pitch decks and attending shoots at her own expense. "I was eventually paid only R3,500 and didn't even get the job," she recalls. Despite repeatedly asking for official confirmation regarding the payment, she says neither HR nor her manager sent her documentation. "I blame myself for being naive about it," she says.
She also remembers being lectured unexpectedly by the manager after casually mentioning she preferred working evenings. "He started giving me a speech about how now that I work under him, I will have to become a morning person," she says. "Then he started talking about how my generation lacks work ethic. It came from nowhere."
Asmi believes older generations are unfairly blaming young people for deeper systemic failures. "They want to blame a certain sector of people for problems they are unable to solve," she says. On the CPJ initiative, she remains sceptical. "The middle and lower classes have been suffering from unemployment for years. The urban class now realises it is getting affected too."
The Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recently sparked backlash when in a Supreme Court he said, "There are already parasites of society who attack the system, and you want to join hands with them. There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment and don't have a place in a profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone." The comments quickly went viral online, drawing criticism from young people and opposition leaders. Following the outrage, the CJI issued a clarification stating that his words had been "misquoted" and were actually directed at individuals using "fake and bogus degrees" to enter professions like law and media, not unemployed youth in general.
Dhrupadi Das quits her job after almost three years due to no overtime compensation
Dhrupadi Das, a 26-year-old vocal coach and singer-songwriter, recently went viral on social media for quitting her job. She has trained over 100 students across her five years career. For three years, she worked as an independent contractor at a music academy - a role that initially felt stable, until the conditions began to shift. "At the start, the pay was good enough to live comfortably," she says. "But over time, policies changed. If I took leave, there were penalties. The money I started with was not what I was earning later." What frustrated her most, she says, was the lack of accountability in how teachers were treated despite being the core of the institution.
Das recalls a monthly staff meeting where teachers were asked to take on additional workshops. The additional pay for an hour of a one-on-one class was R250. When she raised concerns about compensation, she says she was abruptly shut down. "The man in-charge was quite aggressive with me. I was called selfish. He also asked me to leave if I had a problem," she says. "Even HR told me I provoked him. There was no apology."
She continued to file internal complaints and eventually quit after facing continued discrimination. She had recorded parts of the meeting for evidence but to no avail. Such experiences show how normal emotional labour is without fair compensation. "We are expected to give our time and energy, but when we ask for basic respect or pay, it becomes a problem," she says.
Rs 250
Bonus was promised for an extra hour of class
For many, CPJ is an urban city-led movement. There is criticism on the lack of women in the lead as all core members are males. Dipke has also been criticised for giving interviews to only male podcasters while preaching 50 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament. They also criticise the constant BJP bashing while weaponsing rage without proper plans for increasing their following. Dipke recently started a petition via CPJ demanding the resignation of the Education Minister of India, Dharmendra Pradhan (also affiliated with BJP). Although they have not provided a solution post the sacking, six lakh people have allegedly signed it so far.
The official account of the Cockroach Janta Party says they plan to register this as a political party with the Election Commission of India
The official handle of CJP on Instagram @cockroachjantaparty which currently claims a following of over 2.1 crore, responded to queries by reiterating that the movement began "as a joke," but has since evolved into a political statement against what it calls systemic failures in governance and employment.
The account responded, "We do not accept comments like this," referring to recent remarks attributed to Chief Justice Surya Kant, "The CJI is a well-educated man, and he should think twice before making such remarks because they set an example for other courts, judges, lawyers, and advocates in India." The handle accused the current government of failing to provide adequate employment opportunities, stating that "paper leaks have become a major problem" and that "since 2016, the government has repeatedly failed to conduct government exams properly."
On its future, the account said it is "planning to register this as a political party with the Election Commission of India." It also acknowledged the unexpected scale of its growth, stating, "We did not expect so many people to participate in this."
Shortly after responding, the handle blocked further communication with this writer for reasons that remain unclear. Before the paper went to print, we checked their website and found it to be unoperational. Dipke claims, "The government has taken down our iconic website."
