Vivek Kumar has made Jantar Mantar his home since June 20, the day that the Cockroach Janta Party began a sit-in protest at the site. The 19-year-old wakes up every day at 6 am, goes to the nearby Bangla Sahib Gurudwara to freshen up and comes back to volunteer with the campaign.
“The Cockroach Janta Party is not a party, but a family,” he said. “Abhijeet Dipke [founder of Cockroach Janta Party] has given me a platform to express myself. Before this, I used to be scared of the government. But I have become fearless now.”
Kumar is not alone. Hundreds of young people have been gathering every day at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for repeatedly failing to hold examinations for medical college seats and government jobs in a secure manner.
Who are these cockroaches? What are their hopes and dreams? And what is keeping them going?
Scroll visited the protest site over several days to find out.
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