Independent journalist and author Snigdhendu Bhattacharya joins host Tushar Shetty to examine what the Cockroach Janata Party protests reveal about the erosion of India’s democratic institutions. They discuss the satirical origins of the movement and the exam-leak grievances that fueled it, Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike and the government’s effort to brand the protesters as foreign funded, and the forcible removal of Wangchuk and the police crackdown of July 20. 

They also cover the sidelining of Parliament and the collapse of the opposition as a channel for dissent, the Election Commission’s loss of credibility after the disputed electoral roll revision in West Bengal, and the retreat of the judiciary and the mainstream press as independent checks on power. 

Bhattacharya argues that the movement grew as fast as it did precisely because every institutional avenue for grievance had already been hollowed out, leaving a frustrated generation with nowhere left to turn. 

This conversation was recorded on July 24, 2026, the day before Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.

For more in-depth analysis on South Asia, subscribe to the Beyond the Indus podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or follow us on YouTube for video episodes.

Click here for a transcript.