Digital Insurgency Fear through Cockroaches?

A new mascot has suddenly taken over the Indian political diaspora.

Call it cockroach fever or so, but there is an uncanny similarity between cockroaches’ way of multiplying its generation and the followers of a political satire movement mimicking the Indian political leaders.

You have rightly guessed it; it’s all about the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) that has become an instant internet sensation, not only in India but abroad too. CJP has a running mate too – National Parasitic Front (NPF).

An ex-worker of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) currently stationed at Boston, US as a student who also claims to be a political communication strategist, the fellow has first shot into the domestic media limelight with a meteoric splash.

Not because of his merit or genius of delivering to the world some lasting solutions to one among many intriguing problems afflicting mankind at large, but an online movement whirring around a sugar-coated political slugfest. Something that Gen Z is extremely passionate about and could indulge in at ease and with unrestricted elan.

The Trigger Vs BJP Banter

And the tip of his new venture styled as CJP that banters the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a decisively veiled manner, has allegedly been provided by none other than honourable Supreme Court of India Chief Justice Surya Kant.

During a hearing in May this year, Justice Kant was reported to have referred to a section of unemployed youth of India as cockroaches and parasites who were increasingly betraying a penchant to drift towards journalism and activism armed with scant knowledge of the subject they had been dealing with.

The observation read and interpreted out of the context by that particular section of the Gen Z, took little time to go viral; because, the furore has been well-orchestrated to create a hype in such a meticulous manner that reckless pontifications were galore.

Immediate clarification by CJI Surya Kant who categorically stated he had meant only those possessing ‘fake and bogus degrees’ was effectively suppressed by the hollow yet loud din accompanying the hype.

And simultaneously, like a cloudburst born out of a massive, fractured glacier, a calculated chorus of internet voices began howling about how the scales of free speech and press freedom under the regime of Narendra Modi-led BJP government have reached their nadir; how opposition voices have been systematically getting stymied since the BJP’s assumption of office in 2014 in New Delhi.

And lo, the poor inventor of CJP! Much to his chagrin (or his hidden glee?), CJP’s Instagram account has witnessed an unbridled growth in followers in less than a fortnight. Having crossed one million followers within days, it has already beaten the BJP and the Congress so far as the number of Insta followers is concerned and reportedly amassed over 15 million Instagram followers as of now.

It’s an age of meme and the craze has skyrocketed to pierce through the roof. UNDERSTOOD.

Enter the Dragon? No, sorry, enter another avatar into the remaining space available to make the circle complete – National Parasitic Front (NPF).

"Born as the formal opposition to the Cockroach Janta Party and every ecosystem of inertia they represent, the National Parasitic Front is a movement of citizens who refuse to accept governance-as-theatre. We are serious about criminal-free Parliament. Serious about educated representatives. Serious about roads that don't become rivers and Wi-Fi that doesn't require eleven fire hydrant CAPTCHAs to pay an electricity bill," is the succinct statement of NPF.

If CJP projects itself as the ‘resilient underclass that refuses to die’ much like its namesake notwithstanding immense economic and social pressure, NPF dares to question the ‘real parasites’ in public life. However, the duo has wittingly or unwittingly found themselves united on pillorying every aspect of Indian politics, be it welfare promises, revolutionary slogans or tall campaigns and the abyss thereafter.

Hacking Twist

Hardly has the Boston meme-maker found himself on cloud nine in the wake of astounding success when mysterious hackers had a field day, attacking all his accounts at will. In a post, the CJP creator fumed: “Crackdown on CJP, Instagram page hacked. My personal Instagram hacked. Twitter account withheld. Back up account also taken down.’ And he alleged the hand of Narendra Modi government behind the hacking.

This all happened almost immediately after the communication strategist exuded funnily that he might be arrested upon landing in New Delhi.

Interestingly though, fate has not turned so bitter for the NPF man till the time of this article up for publishing.

Intelligence Agencies Rightly Smelt A Rat

The viral CJP), which took Indian social media by storm, has now sparked a cross-border wave of satire, with similar meme-style political pages emerging in Pakistan -- Cockroach Awami Party (CAP) and Cockroach Awami League (CAL).

One of the CAP pages on Instagram also mentions in its bio: “Different Borders, Same Generation”, along with a ‘cockroach’ emoticon.

There is a valid reason behind intelligence agencies’ strong suspicion that CAP is another front for triggering what they reportedly believe ‘Curated Digital Insurgency’ in India with an avowed target to rouse Gen Z to hit the streets.

And intelligence inputs decisively point to a significant chunk of engagement and followers originating from outside India, including Pakistan-based accounts. (Refer the Chart)

Hostile actors, officials worry, could exploit the movement to spread divisive narratives and trigger unrest. Agencies are particularly concerned about the movement’s appeal among Gen Z audiences frustrated over unemployment, inflation and lack of opportunities.

What began as satire and meme culture, authorities apprehend, could spill into offline protests, campus agitations and coordinated street mobilization, enough to destablise India’s present composure.

Kerala BJP Chief’s Claim

Keralam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday claimed that the emerging ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP) trend on social media was part of a cross-border “influence operation” aimed at destabilising India and targeting the Centre.

In a post on X, Chandrasekhar alleged that the campaign was being amplified through social media manipulation and the vested interest overseas that has been extremely jealous about India’s solid foreign policy and confident and mature handling of the raging West Asia conflict.

Key Words: Cockroach Janata Party – Cockroach Awami Party- Cockroach Awami League- Gen Z - India- National Parasitic Front – Narendra Modi government - Pakistan- Supreme Court of India Chief Justice-US- West Asia conflict.