Afrique

Huit chefs-services de la Direction des Examens et Concours du Ministère des Enseignements Maternel et Primaire (DEC/MEMP), sont poursuivis dans une affaire présumée de retenues indues sur les primes versées aux superviseurs du CEP 2026.

La Police républicaine a dévoilé, ce vendredi 21 août 2026, les résultats d'une enquête ouverte après des signalements faisant état d'un système présumé de rançonnement au sein de la Direction des Examens et Concours du Ministère des Enseignements maternel et primaire (DEC/MEMP).

Le commissaire principal de Police Eric Yerima, porte-parole de la Police républicaine, a expliqué que les premiers signalements sont intervenus « au lendemain de l'examen du certificat d'études primaires au titre de l'année 2026 ».

Les sources ont fait état de « l'existence d'un réseau de rançonnement sur fond de menaces d'affectations punitives » contre des enseignants désignés pour superviser les centres d'examen.

Des primes de 200.000 F réduites à 40.000 F

« Les chefs-services de la Direction des Examens et Concours s'entendent pour s'attribuer des quotas », a déclaré Eric Yerima.

Ces quotas ont ensuite permis auxdits achefs-services de faire désigner des personnes de leur entourage, « qu'elles soient enseignantes ou non », pour participer aux travaux dans les centres d'examen. Les personnes désignées percevaient une prime de 200.000 FCFA inscrite sur les états de paiement. Mais une fois cette prime perçue, « des retenues leur sont faites d'office jusqu'à 160.000 FCFA », a expliqué le porte-parole de la Police républicaine.

Une pratique qui a duré plusieurs années

« Il s'agirait d'une pratique systématique en cours depuis plusieurs années sans que personne n'ose en parler au risque de subir des représailles », a indiqué Eric Yerima.

Le chef du secrétariat de la Direction des Examens et Concours est présenté par la Police comme le principal auteur présumé des faits. Il aurait agi « de connivence avec d'autres chefs-services de ladite direction ».

« L'attribution du quota érigé en règle d'or à la direction des Examens et Concours ne repose sur aucune base légale ou réglementaire », a affirmé le porte-parole.

Un placé sous mandat de dépôt

A l'issue de l'enquête, les personnes mises en cause ont été présentées au parquet spécial près la Cour de Répression des Infractions Economiques et du Terrorisme (CRIET).

Huit personnes sont poursuivies dans cette affaire. Une a été placée sous mandat de dépôt et sept autres sont poursuivies sans mandat, selon Eric Yerima.
M. M.

La Loterie Nationale du Bénin S.A vous donne les résultats du TIERCE / QUARTE / QUINTE+ DU VENDREDI 21 AOUT 2026

Arrivée de la course : 04-13-08-07-03
Non Partant : 12

TIERCE
Gain dans l'Ordre : 122.900 FCFA (03)
Gain dans le Désordre : 6.900 FCFA (52)

QUARTE
Gain dans l'Ordre : NEANT (00)
Gain dans le Désordre : 21.200 FCFA (18)

QUINTE+
Gain dans l'Ordre : NEANT (00)
Gain dans le Désordre : 53.700 FCFA (32)
Bonus : 2.100 FCFA (477)

RAPPORT AVEC LE NON PARTANT
Pari Couplé Gagnant Venant du Tiercé : 3.600 FCFA (02)
Pari Tiercé Venant du Quarté Désordre : 6.900 FCFA (01)
Pari Quarté Venant du Quinté Désordre : 31.800 FCFA (05)

PARI SIMPLE / PARI COUPLE

04 Gagnant : 20.000 FCFA (01)
04 Placé : 4.000 FCFA (01)
13 Placé : 4.000 FCFA (01)
08 Placé : 1.000 FCFA (04)
04-13 Gagnant : 9.000 FCFA (04)
04-13 Placé : 20.000 FCFA (04)
04-08 Placé : 5.500 FCFA (14)
13-08 Placé : 2.250 FCFA (34)

MASSE PARTAGÉE : 4.303.800 FCFA

MONTANT DU JACKPOT DU VENDREDI 28 AOUT 2026 : 11.972.563 FCFA

MONTANT DE LA TIRELIRE DU MARDI 25 AOUT 2026 : 750.680 FCFA

CAGNOTTE « 4+1 » ORDRE DU SAMEDI 22 AOUT 2026 : 1.461.851 FCFA

DIGITAL 00H : Avez-vous tenté votre chance ?

Le tirage DIGITAL 00H N°234 a livré son verdict !

Samedi 22 août 2026

Avez-vous joué ?

Avez-vous misé sur vos numéros porte-bonheur ?

RÉSULTAT : 19 • 21 • 06 • 28 • 09

Félicitations aux heureux gagnants !

Pas encore cette fois ? Gardez le sourire.

Rendez-vous à 08H pour le prochain tirage.

Jouez dans les points de vente de la LNB ou : Tapez *590# ou rendez-vous sur lnbloto.bj

Jouez avec modération et responsabilité. Le jeu doit rester un plaisir.

Le tirage DIGITAL 20H N°233 a livré son verdict !

Vendredi 21 août 2026

Avez-vous joué ?

Avez-vous misé sur vos numéros porte-bonheur ?

RÉSULTAT : 16 • 08 • 02 • 72 • 27

Félicitations aux heureux gagnants !

Pas encore cette fois ? Gardez le sourire.
Rendez-vous à 00H pour le prochain tirage.
Jouez dans nos points de vente ou : Tapez *590# ou rendez-vous sur lnbloto.bj

Jouez avec modération et responsabilité. Le jeu doit rester un plaisir.

LES RÉSULTATS LOTO FORTUNE SONT LÀ !

TIRAGE N°134/26

Vendredi 21 août 2026 (18H)

62 • 84 • 65 • 37 • 39

Félicitations aux heureux gagnants !

Pas encore gagné ? Gardez le sourire !

Rendez-vous au prochain tirage de 20h pour une nouvelle chance.

Jouez dans les centres de jeux de la LNB ou en ligne : Tapez 590# ou lnbloto.bj

Jouez avec modération et responsabilité. Le jeu doit rester un plaisir.

Dans cet entretien accordé à BBC News Afrique, Mame Mandiaye Niang défend le principe de complémentarité entre la justice internationale et les juridictions nationales. Il rejette les accusations d'ingérence et rappelle que de nombreuses enquêtes de la CPI en Afrique ont été ouvertes à la demande des États concernés.

LES RÉSULTATS DE LOTO STAR

TIRAGE N°100/26

Samedi 22 Août 2026 (11H)

23 • 04 • 01 • 50 • 32

Félicitations aux heureux gagnants !

– -Pas encore cette fois ? Gardez le sourire.

– -Une nouvelle chance vous attend à 20H pour le prochain tirage.

– -Jouez dans les centres de jeux de la LNB ou en ligne.
– -Tapez *590# ou lnbloto.bj

Jouez avec modération et responsabilité. Le jeu doit rester un plaisir.

A TOI DE JOUER

Entre le 27 juillet et le 2 août 2026, 40 personnes ont été arrêtées dans six régions du Ghana lors d'opérations contre le galamsey, l'exploitation illégale de l'or. La présence de deux ressortissants chinois révèle un système associant des moyens étrangers à des réseaux locaux.

Une offensive menée dans six régions

Le Secrétariat national chargé de la lutte contre l'exploitation minière illégale (NAIMOS) est intervenu le long des rivières Ankobra, Bia, Torya, Tano et Butre, mais aussi dans des réserves forestières et des plantations de cacao. Le galamsey désigne au Ghana l'extraction de l'or pratiquée sans autorisation ou en violation des règles minières et environnementales. Autrefois associé à l'orpaillage artisanal, il repose désormais sur des moyens industrialisés qui aggravent la pollution des cours d'eau et la destruction des forêts et des terres agricoles.Parmi les 40 suspects interpellés figurent deux ressortissants chinois et 38 Ghanéens. Les étrangers ne représentent donc que 5 % des arrestations. Cette proportion n'écarte pas leur responsabilité éventuelle, mais montre que le galamsey ne peut fonctionner sans de nombreux relais locaux.Les saisies illustrent l'ampleur des moyens engagés : des excavatrices, des dizaines de pompes, des machines flottantes appelées « chanfang », des véhicules, des groupes électrogènes, des armes, ainsi que 120 000 cedis en espèces.

Une présence chinoise récurrente, mais dépendante de relais locaux
La nationalité des deux suspects étrangers n'est pas anodine. En avril et mai 2026, au moins onze ressortissants chinois avaient déjà été arrêtés au cours de trois opérations menées le long des rivières Nyaase et Dankai ainsi qu'à Seiko Krom.Depuis plus d'une décennie, plusieurs études décrivent le rôle joué par des opérateurs chinois dans la mécanisation accélérée de l'orpaillage alluvial au Ghana. Leurs financements, leurs excavatrices et leurs techniques de lavage ont contribué à augmenter les volumes de terre traités et, par conséquent, l'ampleur des dégâts environnementaux.La législation ghanéenne réserve pourtant l'exploitation minière à petite échelle aux citoyens du pays. Un ressortissant étranger ne peut donc pas obtenir légalement une licence pour ce type d'activité. Son intervention suppose soit une activité clandestine, soit le recours à un détenteur de permis ou à un prête-nom ghanéen. La présence étrangère ne fonctionne donc pas de manière autonome. Elle dépend de relais capables de fournir des terrains, des autorisations, de la main-d'œuvre, des moyens de transport et des débouchés pour l'or extrait.

Du financement étranger aux complicités locales

Le comptage des arrestations par nationalité ne permet pas, à lui seul, d'identifier les véritables organisateurs. Les personnes présentes sur les sites sont souvent des ouvriers, des conducteurs d'engins ou des gardiens. Les propriétaires des machines, les financiers et les bénéficiaires des opérations peuvent se trouver ailleurs. Le galamsey repose sur une chaîne structurée : des propriétaires fonciers donnent accès aux terrains ; des détenteurs de permis couvrent parfois des activités illégales ; des chauffeurs déplacent les excavatrices ; des intermédiaires approvisionnent les sites en carburant ; des négociants achètent l'or ; enfin, des complicités administratives ou politiques peuvent protéger les opérations.Les acteurs étrangers peuvent apporter des capitaux, des machines ou des compétences techniques. Mais sans partenaires ghanéens, ils ne pourraient ni accéder aux terres, ni recruter les ouvriers, ni transporter les équipements, ni écouler la production.Les 40 arrestations illustrent ainsi la double dimension du phénomène : une activité profondément implantée dans les économies locales, mais connectée à des circuits transnationaux de financement, d'équipement et de commercialisation.

Après les arrestations, quelles poursuites ?

L'efficacité de la lutte contre le galamsey ne peut toutefois pas être évaluée au seul nombre d'arrestations. Le véritable indicateur sera judiciaire : combien de suspects seront effectivement poursuivis ? Combien seront condamnés ? Combien d'excavatrices seront définitivement confisquées ? Combien de commanditaires et de propriétaires réels seront identifiés ?Il faudra également mesurer la restauration des sites. L'interpellation des personnes présentes ne suffit pas à réparer les rivières polluées, les forêts dégradées ou les plantations de cacao détruites.Sans données publiques sur les poursuites, les condamnations, la confiscation du matériel et la réhabilitation des terrains, les opérations spectaculaires risquent de rester sans effet durable. L'arrestation de ressortissants chinois peut alors nourrir un récit politiquement commode, tout en laissant intactes les infrastructures locales qui permettent à l'activité de reprendre.

Remonter toute la filière de l'or

Pour démanteler les réseaux, Accra doit relier les enquêtes policières au cadastre minier, aux registres des sociétés, aux propriétaires des engins, aux transactions bancaires et aux licences d'achat et d'exportation de l'or.Un registre public distinguant les ouvriers, les propriétaires fonciers, les détenteurs de permis, les financiers, les acheteurs et les bénéficiaires réels permettrait de mieux répartir les responsabilités. Il aiderait également à identifier les récidivistes et les entreprises utilisées comme façades légales.La souveraineté minière du Ghana se mesure donc moins à la nationalité des suspects arrêtés qu'à la capacité de l'État à suivre l'ensemble de la valeur, depuis le chantier clandestin jusqu'à la commercialisation et à l'exportation de l'or.

Le pèlerinage marial national de Dassa-Zoumè s'est ouvert, ce vendredi 21 août 2026, sous le signe de la lutte contre les sachets plastiques. Pour cette 72e édition, l'Église catholique et le gouvernement béninois unissent leurs forces pour faire de ce grand rassemblement religieux, un événement respectueux de l'environnement.

À l'initiative de la Fondation Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, l'opération « Dassa-Zoumè Zéro Sachet » invite les milliers de pèlerins à bannir les plastiques à usage unique et à privilégier gourdes, bouteilles réutilisables, contenants en verre ou en inox, sacs en tissu et emballages biodégradables. L'objectif est de limiter la pollution qui, selon une étude réalisée 2015, estime la quantité de déchets plastique produite lors du pèlerinage à environ 184 tonnes.

Le ministère du Cadre de vie et des Transports soutient l'initiative à travers la campagne « Zéro plastique à Dassa-Zoumè », menée avec la Fondation Moov Africa. Les fidèles sont notamment appelés à éviter les sachets et bouteilles jetables, à utiliser les points de collecte et à adopter des comportements écocitoyens.

Portées par l'Église et les autorités publiques, ces deux initiatives poursuivent un même objectif : faire de Dassa-Zoumè un pèlerinage éco-responsable, où la ferveur religieuse ne laisse pas derrière elle des tonnes de déchets plastiques.

F. A. A.

A street in Faizabad, the capital of Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province. Lailuma’s home province of Badakhshan has been plagued by clashes between various armed groups. Credit: Learning Together.

By External Source
FAYZABAD, Afghanistan, Aug 21 2026 (IPS)

Afghanistan has seen a number of unexplained murders in recent months.

One of the latest victims is Lailuma, the wife of well-known local singer Salam Maftoon and a community activist.

The murder took place in Ishkashim district, in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, in early May. Lailuma was arriving at her restaurant when unidentified assailants shot her in a market area near the provincial government buildings.

Locals say there were several witnesses to the incident and that the attackers fled the scene immediately after the shooting. People rushed to help Lailuma, who was seriously injured, but she died before reaching the hospital. She was 35 years old.

The attackers have not yet been identified, and the motive for the murder is not officially known.

Lailuma’s senseless murder left many women in a state of terror and deep grief, locals say. Women who previously worked in tailoring workshops or at food stalls selling traditional bolani bread have now stopped working, fearing Lailuma’s fate

Lailuma is not the only victim. In May, the online media outlet Rawa News reported on several recent murders across the country. Among the victims was well-known tribal leader Hajiullah Nazar, who was shot.

According to the human rights organization Rawadar, at least, 611 people were killed or injured in targeted attacks, summary executions or other similar incidents in Afghanistan last year. This is more than 40 percent more than the previous year.

The majority of the victims were men. Among them were former government employees, people allegedly linked to the opposition, protesters, tribal leaders and other prominent figures in the community.

Targeted killings are particularly worrying in remote provinces, where the authorities’ capacity to provide security is limited, Rawa News reports. For example, Lailuma’s home province of Badakhshan has been plagued by clashes between various armed groups.

Lailuma opened a women-only restaurant and tailoring workshop in the city after the Taliban closed schools and universities to girls.

Her goal was to provide girls and women, as well as herself, with employment opportunities amid the difficult conditions in Afghanistan. At the same time, she sought to protect them from forced marriages.

Seven women worked in the restaurant and 11 girls in the tailoring workshop. The girls also received training for their work.

Lailuma also supported her family with her work, as restrictions on performing music had taken away her musician husband’s income. He has not been able to perform in concerts or festivals due to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime.

“I remember well how my wife worked in her restaurant together with other women and how active the girls in the tailoring workshop were. She was very enthusiastic about her work and emphasized to her colleagues that you should never lose hope,” Maftoon says.

He doesn’t understand what his wife’s “crime” was that she had to die for it.

Fatima (name changed), a 45-year-old close relative of Lailuma, says that it was the first restaurant in her village. Most residents in the area had never seen a restaurant for women only before.

“Women could go to a restaurant and eat together. It made us happy.”

Fatima can’t understand why Lailuma had to be killed.

Lailuma had already received several anonymous death threats, but she ignored them. She would often say that one day she would be able to help the women of her own village overcome their difficulties. Instead, she herself became a victim.

Lailuma’s senseless murder left many women in a state of terror and deep grief, locals say. Women who previously worked in tailoring workshops or at food stalls selling traditional bolani bread have now stopped working, fearing Lailuma’s fate.

Many of them do not even dare to attend funerals or wedding ceremonies. Recently, fewer and fewer women have been seen in the village center or at the local market.

“I don’t think any of the girls in this village dare to go to work or be active in any way. They don’t even dare to leave their homes,” says one villager.

Rahima (name changed), who also worked at Lailuma’s restaurant, says that after that day she has not dared to work again.

“That day they killed Lailuma. On another day it could be someone else from our restaurant.”

Nadia (name changed), a women’s rights activist, says that Afghan women are currently not safe even in the few jobs they still have. Most of the work available to them is related to small-scale private entrepreneurship, such as tailoring, handicrafts or, alternatively, working in a restaurant.

“Mysterious murders like this make women give up hope of getting a job or maintaining social relationships. Even life itself can seem meaningless.”

She hopes that the international community and human rights organizations will be more active in highlighting the violence and oppression experienced by Afghan women, which is present everywhere, both inside and outside the home.

Excerpt:

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

Demographic and social trends are fuelling debate in Europe. The proportion of older people in the total population is increasing while the working-age population decreases, putting a severe strain on pension systems. Birth rates are also falling, and the option of using immigration to rebalance the social security systems is highly contentious.

The early hours of Thursday morning saw a new barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on the Kyiv metropolitan area in which 16 people were killed. President Volodmyr Zelensky has urged Western partners to provide swift assistance with air defence. Meanwhile, Ukraine is sending salvoes of drones into Russia. According to the mayor of Moscow, as many as 620 drones hit the capital region on Tuesday night.

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet has destroyed an explosive maritime drone in the Black Sea. According to the Ministry of Defence, the sea drone was near a production platform in Romania's Neptun Deep gas field, where hundreds of people are working. Romania's President Nicusor Dan has blamed Russia for the incident.

Traffic police take statements from road crash victims at a health facility in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The country's Basic Emergency Care (BEC) programme is strengthening the capacity of frontline health workers to provide life-saving treatment during the critical moments following serious injuries. Credit: Muhidin Issa Michuzi

By Kizito Makoye
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Aug 21 2026 (IPS)

The 14-year-old girl arrived at the hospital fighting for her life. After a tragic hit-and-run car accident, she was rushed into the emergency department with serious abdominal injuries. Every passing minute brought her closer to death.

“There was internal bleeding,” recalls Dr Iddi Muhammad Juma, a surgeon at Tanzania’s Same District Hospital. “We performed an ultrasound and took her to theatre immediately,” he tells IPS.

When surgeons opened her abdomen, they found a ruptured spleen floating inside the abdominal cavity.

Applying the structured emergency approach taught in the World Health Organisation’s Basic Emergency Care course, the team stopped the bleeding and removed the ruptured spleen. The girl survived.

For Juma, the case illustrates how a systematic response to an emergency saves lives.

“If we had delayed, she could have died. Because of the BEC training, we acted quickly to save her life,” he says.

His experience highlights changes across Tanzania as the government improves emergency care in rural hospitals to save the lives of the injured and critically ill patients.

Tanzania has expanded access to healthcare over the past two decades, but emergency care remains weak. Many district hospitals lack trained staff, equipment and essential supplies, while clinicians — especially in rural areas where patients often travel hours for treatment — have had little practical training in rapidly assessing and handling life-threatening emergencies with limited resources.

To address the problem, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Emergency Medicine Association of Tanzania (EMAT) with support from WHO, has launched the Accelerating Community and Transformative Learning for Basic Emergency Care (ACTxBEC) initiative to train health workers in 250 hospitals countrywide to manage medical emergencies using evidence-based practices designed for resource-limited settings.

Michael Kiremeji, an official at the Ministry of Health, says the initiative aims to strengthen emergency and critical care at district hospitals where most patients first seek treatment.

“We want to ensure that timely and quality life-saving emergency care is accessible to every patient regardless of where they live,” he tells IPS

He says many deaths and disabilities caused by trauma, obstetric emergencies and severe infections can be prevented if health workers have the skills to rapidly assess, stabilise and manage critically ill patients.

Doctors say the training has improved teamwork, confidence and decision-making during emergencies, showing that life-saving care depends more on skilled, decisive action than on advanced technology.

Perched on a wind-swept highway linking Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, with the northern Kilimanjaro region, Same District Hospital has long grappled with a steady flow of road crash victims, especially during holidays when travel peaks, doctors say.

Before the BEC training, the hospital could only stabilise patients with severe chest, abdominal or pelvic injuries before referring them to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), about 100 kilometres away.

“We learned how to quickly identify air or blood in the chest and insert life-saving chest tubes. We also mastered simple airway techniques like the chin lift and jaw thrust—basic life-saving skills.” Dr Juma tells IPS.

Hundreds of kilometres away at Tumbi Regional Hospital in Tanzania’s Coast Region, Dr Sami Kyaruzi says the BEC course has simplified doctors’ responses to emergencies.

He recalls a 45-year-old man with stab wounds who arrived at the emergency room alert and breathing normally. A chest X-ray showed blood and air trapped in the chest, but his condition initially appeared stable.

Within minutes, however, his breathing became laboured, his blood pressure dropped and one side of his chest bulged unevenly. While the sudden decline could have puzzled many clinicians, Kyaruzi recognised the signs.

“We immediately relieved the pressure in his chest with a needle, then inserted a chest tube,” Kyaruzi tells IPS. “His condition improved quickly, and he was later discharged.”

Despite his emergency medicine background, Kyaruzi says the hands-on demonstration during the course changed how he puts that knowledge into practice.

“We learned how to assess trauma patients, stabilize the neck and spine, support breathing, and deliver oxygen correctly.”

He believes Tanzania should invest in simulation laboratories where clinicians can hone their life-saving skills before facing real emergencies.

“Investing in emergency care training is a necessity,” he says. “Strengthening capacity at the district hospitals will save many lives.”

At Bagamoyo District Hospital on the Indian Ocean coast, Dr Makubi Gyalisi says the change brought by the BEC programme has improved his confidence.

Now head of the hospital’s emergency department, Gyalisi oversees critically ill and injured patients. But before attending the training, he says managing life-threatening emergencies was hard.

“The training changed the way I handle emergencies. I now approach critically ill patients with confidence and follow a systematic process,” he says.

That confidence was tested when a young man arrived after a grisly car crash. His right leg had been chopped, he sustained severe head injuries and was terribly shocked.

The emergency team adeptly followed the structured approach taught during the BEC course.

“We assessed his airway and breathing, treated his shock with IV fluids, immobilised his neck and prepared him for blood transfusion before referral,” Gyalisi says.

Doctors contacted orthopaedic specialists in Dar es Salaam to explain his condition and the treatment already provided.

“They really appreciated the steps we had taken,” he says.

For Gyalisi, the case demonstrated that survival often depends less on where a patient is treated than on how quickly and systematically care begins. “The training improved my confidence and skills to manage emergency cases in an organised and systematic way,” he says

Across Tanzania, life-threatening emergencies continue to strain district hospitals, often the first point of care for critically ill patients.

From Kilimanjaro to Bagamoyo and Kibaha, district hospitals face a shortage of staff, medicines and equipment to handle emergencies.

As Tanzania expands the ACTxBEC initiative to more health facilities, frontline doctors hope those transferable skills will help provide timely life-saving care to patients before it is too late.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

 

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party rally against the Minister of Education in Kolkata, India, 24 July 2026. Credit: Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via AFP

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Aug 21 2026 (IPS)

India’s strongman leader, Narendra Modi, has just been forced to do the thing he likes least: making concessions in response to protests.

It all started on 15 May, when the country’s Chief Justice, Surya Kant, told a courtroom that unemployed young people who protest and speak out on social media are like cockroaches. The remark, revealing the establishment’s contempt for the country’s young people, spectacularly backfired. Within days it had spawned a nationwide movement, the Cockroach Janta Party. Its central protest demand was the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan quit on 25 July. But that may not be enough to satisfy the demand for change the movement has unleashed.

Birth of a movement

India has more Gen Z people than any other country. Around 407 million Indians, some 30 per cent of the population, are aged 14 to 29. They face extraordinary competition to access education and struggle to find jobs.

Kant’s remark sparked a fire. Communications strategist Abhijeet Dipke asked on social media: what if all the cockroaches came together? That question kickstarted a viral movement under a name, the Cockroach Janta Party, that playfully echoes that of the ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What began as a satirical website quickly became a movement. Within two weeks, it had 22 million Instagram followers.

The cockroach movement fits into a broader global pattern. Recent years have seen Gen Z mobilise in numbers in many countries where governments are demonstrably out of touch and economies and political systems fail young people. Movements are characterised by collective leadership, mass protests and strategic use of social media. India’s time to join the wave had come.

The movement soon found its galvanising cause. India’s education system relies on make-or-break entrance exams, with results deciding the career prospects of millions. In the medical college exam, some 2.2 million students compete for 130,000 places. Families make sacrifices and students spend years preparing. But corruption means questions are often leaked in return for bribes. Two weeks before Kant’s outburst, the national medical college entrance exam paper was leaked and the exam was cancelled. Students despaired. Then they got angry.

Protest prevails

Protesters camped out for weeks in central Delhi, demanding Pradhan’s resignation. Volunteers supplied food, water, medicines and camping equipment. The movement broadened well beyond Gen Z, with people of all ages joining. Sonam Wangchuk, an environmental and education reform activist previously jailed for protesting, further raised the protest’s profile with a weeks-long hunger strike.

For seven weeks the government tried ignoring the protesters, and when that failed, it turned to violence. After authorities forcibly hospitalised Wangchuk, thousands of protesters marched from the protest site to parliament. Security forces responded with pellet guns and teargas, beat protesters and bystanders with batons and wooden sticks and detained many. The violence, widely documented on social media, was shocking for a country that prides itself on being the world’s biggest democracy. It was impossible to ignore, sparking protests in other towns and cities. The government was finally forced to hold talks.

Looking ahead

The government has promised fast-track courts for exam leakers and a review of the exam and education systems. In return, the movement called off the protests, having also secured a promise that no protester would face repercussions. But that’s not the way of a government that has long repressed dissent. Modi’s administration has a track record of detaining activists, using force against protests, censoring critical voices and passing restrictive laws. India has recently been added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist because of its deteriorating civic space. Since the cockroach protests ended, police have detained and harassed hundreds of students and reportedly targeted their families.

Pradhan’s resignation was a remarkable event. The government had never before responded to pressure by sacking an unpopular minister. But the BJP doesn’t appear to have learned much. During a recent by-election campaign, its national president, Nitin Nabin, described protesters as ‘a virus and a cockroach gang devoted to breaking the country’.

Modi may have bought breathing space, but the underlying problems remain. The causes are both economic, with high youth unemployment and evident inequality, and political, with a high-handed government that doesn’t listen to young people or respect their right to dissent. Further protests look likely. One, sparked by similar corruption complaints over a civil service entry exam, has mobilised in Jharkhand state.

This isn’t the first time Modi’s government has bent to pressure. In 2021, sustained farmers’ protests forced it to drop farming law changes. Modi’s support fell in the 2024 general election, forcing him to rely on coalition partners. More recently, his party looked to be on the up again, winning power in West Bengal state for the first time in April following controversial changes to the electoral roll that removed over nine million names, disproportionately Muslim voters and others less likely to support the BJP. But it has just lost the by-election where Nitin Nabin repeated the cockroach slur.

The cockroach movement may present Modi’s biggest challenge to date, because it cuts across class, party and religious divides, making it much harder to dismiss. The BJP built its base among Hindus by vilifying Muslims, yet at the Delhi protest, people from both religions prayed side by side. The movement’s social media cut-through is also significant. It bypassed a conventional media largely co-opted by the BJP that typically parrots its lines and downplays other viewpoints.

The government should read the room, but there’s every chance it will learn the wrong lesson and go after protest leaders. That will be a recipe for further protests and a repeated cycle of state violence and criminalisation. If India is to live up to its promise as the world’s biggest democracy, it must deepen democratic freedoms, recognise the value of dissent and acknowledge that the young people it branded cockroaches have much to contribute to their country’s future.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');