India (MNN) — Protests led by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have brought Hindus, Muslims, and Christians together over the past several months. Led by young adults, the CJP has demanded government accountability after yet another national exam leak scandal devastated about 2 million test takers in May. 

“They’re not a party. They’re not a political entity. It’s just a Gen Z movement,” says a man we’ll call Peter, who works as a leadership coach in places in South Asia. 

“We are all amazed to see how they [Gen Z] were able to stand firm in the midst of all kinds of threats, abuse. They were abused, threatened. They were called all kinds of names. The government used the whole media, the mainstream media to tarnish their image. But these guys just stood firm.”

During CJP demonstrations in July, police crackdowns left scores of protesters as well as police injured. Some media coverage reportedly favored police action and overlooked the perspective of Gen Z protesters.

“They said, ‘No, you have to be accountable for what happened,’” Peter says. “Our country, this is probably 100 plus leaks happened in the past 12 years [on] different common entrance exams. So they said enough is enough.”

On July 25, after a week of mass protests, India’s minister of education, Dharmendra Pradhan, resigned according to CJP demands. Protest leaders and government leaders came to the negotiation table hours later and reached an agreement. No more protests, and no prosecution of demonstrators. 

However, since then, authorities have said they will not prosecute any protesters — except those who have a criminal records. According to a report from DW, one student leader says police have talked of around 2,800 protesters with criminal cases.

The CJP has warned that it may resume protesting if the backlash on protesters continues. 

“They are even starting to crack down on people who posted things against Modi, or criticizing Modi, or you know probably saying things in a derogative manner,” says Peter. He says Muslims especially are being targeted. 

How do these political events affect India’s Christians? Historically, Christians in India have stayed out of politics, says Peter. They have instead focused on grassroots efforts, serving the lowest social classes with God’s love — even while they themselves are frequently targeted for their faith under various laws.

But this time, Peter says Christians took part in the Cockroach movement protests. Some parents had children who were part of demonstrations. Others offered food and water to demonstrators. To him, this is a positive move toward Christians speaking up for justice in India. 

“[We] definitely need to be praying that the Church will stand firm. I think these young people have set a trend by standing up for social justice,” says Peter. He knows of  one congregation that shared biblical teaching on social justice, discussing “what the Bible talks about justice and where should [Christians] stand in a scenario like this?”

The Cockroach youth movement has pulled together people from different ages and backgrounds, but please pray for Gen Z specifically. Pray that as they try to confront what is wrong in political systems, their lives will be spared and they will have wisdom in responding to government actions. Pray that as Christians step into the realm of political protest, they will point others to hope in Jesus, the Righteous One, rather than in any political reforms. 

 

Header image is a stock photo from India, courtesy of Shubham Sharma via Unsplash.