‘We are all inspired by India’s Cockroach rebellion’

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The Students’ Federation of India organised protests last week in cities across Britain

Hundreds gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square to celebrate the victory of India’s Cockroach movement (Pic: @sfi_uk on X)

Hundreds of protesters—many of them international students—gathered in central London’s Trafalgar Square last Sunday to show solidarity with India’s “Cockroach” movement.

The crowd clapped and chanted “Azaadi”—meaning “freedom”—and sang songs of resistance such as “Yeh Subah Kabhi To Aayegi”, meaning, “That morning will surely come someday.”

The protest, called by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), became a celebration after the resignation of India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan the previous day.
SFI-UK’s Somiha Chatterjee said, “The victory that we bask in today is the victory of all of these students who have been fighting relentlessly.”

Speakers urged the crowd to keep organising. Many of the protesters in Britain joined calls to scrap the NEET exam, an intensively competitive exam for prospective medical students. They say it is unjust as privileged students can afford coaching that others cannot.

“All the international students gathered here, please organise around these issues in your campuses,” said one speaker from the SFI.

Students in Britain recognise that the issues they face are connected to the issues faced by those in India.

“In the last couple of years, we have seen a rise in the number of Indian students coming here to study in Britain,” the SFI said.

“They are taking massive loans to study here because our country cannot provide them with the education that they need or the job opportunities that they need.”

Joining the rally, climate and Palestine activist Greta Thunberg said, “The Indian student protests are making us all proud. They give us hope.

“They show what we can accomplish when people come together and when we resist.

“The struggle for democracy and liberation is also our struggle.” She said.

Solidarity protesters in Leeds congratulated the work of students and commemorated those who have been lost in the fight. Many described the movement as a “Gen Z revolution”.

Speaker Anupreet said, “A whole uprooting of the system is needed”.

She spoke about the possibilities for huge struggles in India given the recent history of general strikes.

But she also commented that union leaders limited these strikes to one-day events.

Earlier in the week about 100 young people in Nottingham were at a solidarity protest joined by the Indian Workers’ Association.

A speaker told the crowd that the Indian government launched intense police brutality against people “fighting for a better and more accountable education system.”

The SFI has held solidarity protests other cities, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oxford, Cardiff and Manchester.