Aruni Kashyap on India’s Cockroach Youth Movement
Novelist Aruni Kashyap joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about the surprising surge of a new youth movement in India. Kashyap, the author of a new novel, How to Date a Fanatic, about young queer academics
Novelist Aruni Kashyap joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to discuss the emergence of a new youth movement in India. Kashyap, author of the novel "How to Date a Fanatic," explains how Chief Justice of India's comments likening unemployed youth to "cockroaches and parasites" sparked a satirical group called the Cockroach Janta Party.
The group now has millions of followers and has garnered significant attention due to its satirical nature and political demands. Kashyap discusses the history of campus politics in India, the impact of social media on the movement, and his own experiences with campus protests. He emphasizes the frustration among young Indians due to lack of promised economic growth and the divisive rhetoric of the Modi government.
The movement's success is attributed to its fun and satirical approach, which resonated with a large online audience.
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