Hinduphobia on display; Cockroach Janata Party supporter mocks sacred Kanwar Yatra under guise of his 'pro-student activism'
Delhi, India 
15 July, 2026
Case Summary
In Delhi, Hindu religious sentiments were deliberately hurt when a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protester mocked Hindus who undertook the Kanwar Yatra. It is a sacred annual Hindu pilgrimage in which devotees of Lord Shiva, known as Kanwariyas, carry holy water from the River Ganga to offer at Shiva temples during the auspicious month of Shravan as an act of devotion and penance. Notably, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) emerged in mid-May 2026 as a satirical, youth-led online movement that rapidly transformed into a mass mobilisation platform for students and unemployed graduates, driven by social media engagement. It was founded by Abhijeet Dipke, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member, who repurposed a controversial public remark comparing unemployed youth to "cockroaches" as a symbol of collective identity and protest. While Dipke initially portrayed the movement as a genuine, non-partisan, and constitutionally aligned initiative addressing youth unemployment and examination irregularities (such as the NEET and CBSE controversies), it quickly swayed from its original claimed narrative of criticising government policy failures. Rather than maintaining its focus on systemic educational reforms, the movement shifted toward targeted ideological opposition, marked by anti-Hindu remarks from its co-founders and participants. By the time it culminated in its first major street-level protest at Jantar Mantar on 6 June 2026, the movement's focus had drifted from neutral advocacy for students' rights into overt hostility against the Hindu community, Hindu organisations, activists, and what it termed a 'Hindutva-led government', exposing the initiative as an ideologically driven, anti-Hindu platform rather than a neutral student advocacy group. This incident came to light when a video of a supporter of the CJP movement went viral on X on 16 July 2026. In the viral video, a man was seen making derogatory and mocking remarks about Hindus who participated in the sacred Kanwar Yatra. Expressing his frustration over the comparatively low participation of young people in the CJP movement, he said, "Enough is enough. Now millions of youths will come out onto the streets to take part in the Kanwar Yatra by saying 'Bol Bam, Bol Bam'. Should these youths not feel any shame in doing business out of religion?" He further stated that these youths want to secure their future by using religion, whereas they should instead fight for education and stand with Sonam Wangchuk, a leftist anti-India activist who participated in the CJP protest. He said, "These youths want to find their future by using religion. They should instead fight for education and stand by a man (Sonam Wangchuk) who is fighting for their education and future."
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category: Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is: Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This case is a clear example of anti-Hindu hate speech, as the perpetrator mocked both the sacred Kanwar Yatra and the Hindu devotees who participated in it. Rather than limiting his remarks to advocating for students' rights or educational reforms, he chose to ridicule a revered Hindu religious practice and portray Hindu youths who undertook the pilgrimage as objects of contempt. By targeting a sacred religious observance and the community that practised it, his remarks transcended political commentary and entered the realm of religiously motivated hostility, making this a clear case of a religiously driven hate crime. The Kanwar Yatra is one of the largest and most sacred annual pilgrimages in Hinduism, observed during the holy month of Shravan. Millions of devotees of Lord Shiva, known as Kanwariyas, undertake arduous journeys on foot to collect holy water from the River Ganga and offer it at Shiva temples as an act of devotion, penance, and spiritual discipline. For countless Hindus, the pilgrimage is a deeply cherished expression of faith that symbolises sacrifice, religious commitment, and reverence towards Lord Shiva. The yatra occupies a significant place in Hindu religious life and is regarded as an important spiritual observance by devotees across India. Hence, the act of mocking Hindu youths who participated in the Kanwar Yatra demonstrated the perpetrator's deep-seated religious animosity towards the Hindu community and their faith. If his genuine objective had been to advocate for students' rights, educational reforms, or employment opportunities, he could have conveyed those concerns without ridiculing Hindu religious beliefs or practices. There is nothing inherently contradictory about young people pursuing education, demanding better employment opportunities, and simultaneously practising their religion with pride by participating in the Kanwar Yatra. However, instead of addressing educational issues on their own merits, the perpetrator deliberately chose to ridicule Hindu youths for observing a sacred religious tradition. By using the Kanwar Yatra and its devotees as the subject of mockery under the guise of promoting education and the future of the youth, he transformed what could have been a discussion on public policy into an act of anti-Hindu hate speech that directly targeted Hindu religious identity and hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees. The overall incident further demonstrated that the perpetrator operated with a mindset in which he considered it acceptable to ridicule Hindu beliefs, customs, and religious observances under the garb of student activism. Rather than presenting a constructive message centred on education, he inserted disparaging remarks about a sacred Hindu pilgrimage and its devotees into his narrative. This reflected an attempt to normalise hostility towards Hindu religious practices while masking it as social or political activism. Such conduct exposed a deep-rooted anti-Hindu disposition and revealed that the attack was directed not merely at an idea, but at the religious identity and practices of the Hindu community. Consequently, the incident constituted a clear example of a religiously driven hate speech and demonstrated prejudice and hostility towards Hindus and Hinduism, making it a clear case of Hinduphobia. Since this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated offence, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurs rather than when it is reported. However, in the present case, the exact date on which the incident occurred has not been specified in the available information. Hence, the date on which the video went viral on social media, 16 July 2026, has been selected as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
