
Cockroach is not a bad word or an abuse. A search in Wikipedia will reveal that cockroaches have retained their basic body structure for roughly 200 million years that is 199,700,000 years earlier than Homo sapiens first emerged in Africa about 300,000 years a... Cockroach is not a bad word or an abuse. A search in Wikipedia will reveal that cockroaches have retained their basic body structure for roughly 200 million years — that is 199,700,000 years earlier than Homo sapiens first emerged in Africa about 300,000 years ago. Cockroaches have a prior claim over humans to the right to exist in this world. Science Encyclopedia tells us that cockroaches do not bite or attack people, unlike people who attack cockroaches. Of course, cockroaches carry bacteria, transmit diseases and trigger allergies. Humans also carry bacteria, transmit diseases and trigger allergies (especially among members of rival groups). Some humans consider cockroaches as ‘creepy’, not unlike some humans who consider other humans as ‘creepy’. Stirred and shaken Some days ago, a high dignitary stirred the cockroaches from their slumber. Bless him, he clarified promptly that he was referring to fake lawyers with fake degrees roaming around the courts. Such fake lawyers deserve to be called bad names but, I submit respectfully, not a cockroach. Once stirred, the cockroaches remain stirred (like ‘once a mortgage, always a mortgage’). A few stirred cockroaches have founded a political party, started an X handle, created a website and opened an Instagram handle. By last count, the handle had over 22 million followers. The stirred cockroaches retaliated. The consequence was the humans were stirred and shaken. I suspect the humans are shaking in their Kolhapuri chappals. If not, why would the highest executive authority of India with Armed Forces that have 1.45 million active personnel in uniform, 4,200 main battle tanks, 580 fighter aircraft, 270 naval vessels, 2 aircraft carriers and hundreds of nuclear weapons, and a Rs 2,86,588 crore bonanza from RBI in its kitty, fear a mere X handle opened by a 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke who is the flag-bearer of the digital-only Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and ask X to close the handle? Mr Dipke is in a far away land pursuing a Masters degree in, phew, ‘public relations’ (not the dangerous AI) under the care of our frenemy, Mr Donald Trump. The website set out CJP’s goals: “we own the identity of the cockroach — if that is what it takes for young people to be heard.” With its tagline as ‘Voice of the lazy and unemployed’, the CJP claims to represent the people “the system forgot to count”. He wants the unemployed, lazy, chronically online and who can rant professionally to join his party. He is inspired by Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru. CJP’s manifesto makes one laugh and think; the usual political party’s manifesto makes one sleep. “It is the cause…” I think CJP is counting on the widespread disappointment, distress and frustration among people, especially among the youth including young women. The