India’s youth-led Cockroach movement vows to keep demanding reforms after police crackdown

NEW DELHI (AP) — Supporters of India’s youth-led Cockroach movement demanding educational reforms and government accountability refused to leave their New Delhi protest site Tuesday, a day after their thousands-strong march toward Parliament drew police tear gas, beatings and a new wave of sympathy from across the country.

The movement, now attracting professionals and families beyond students, represents a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and use of force to respond to protests.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and dozens of his Congress party lawmakers showed their support Tuesday with a sit-in outside Modi’s residence before police forcibly removed them in a dramatic escalation.

Footage showed Gandhi, who had urged “every patriotic Indian who believes that our students should get justice” to join, resisting. Government minister Jitendra Singh said Gandhi was told the location was not “suitable for a sit-in."

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters remained camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India’s examination system.

“We are going to continue our protest,” said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, which emerged just two months ago as a satirical protest after a Supreme Court judge described India's youth as “cockroaches” but quickly evolved.

It gained momentum over the weekend after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose three-week hunger strike became a symbol of the protests, was forcibly taken to a hospital by police.

Video of police beating protesters and dragging them away spread on social media, fueling public outrage. Footage showed young protesters crying and pleading with officers not to hit them, while others stood their ground and endured blows.

Delhi Police said nearly 180 people were injured, including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters.

Sona Bisht, a 20-year-old student who was part of the protest, said the confrontation strengthened her resolve.

“If the government thinks that doing this with Gen Z, they can stop us, then that won’t happen. We are here talking about education, talking about securing our future. And till the time our demands are not met, we will not move from here,” she said.

After nearly a month of silence, the government made its first apparent move to engage with the protesters Monday, when a senior minister held talks with movement representatives. The outreach failed to ease tensions.

Movement leaders said they wanted action rather than assurances, including Pradhan’s resignation, examination reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam irregularities.

Dipke accused authorities of breaking their word, saying police resorted to a baton charge after protesters were invited for talks.

Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement late Monday that the police action showed “how peaceful dissent is being suppressed in India," noting that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is recognized under the Indian constitution.

More people have joined the movement after seeing the confrontation.

Rabina Kashyap, a 26-year-old working professional, said she joined the protest on Tuesday.

“I have nothing to do with this protest," she said. “But this is India, this is my country, and these are my people. So I will stand by them.”

Associated Press video journalist Piyush Nagpal contributed to this report.

India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, with his hands tied, participates in a sit-in protest with his sister and lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, center right, outside the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party scuffle with police as they attempt to march toward India's Parliament, demanding the resignation of the education minister, in New Delhi, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)

Security officers stand guard at the camping site of the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, sits by a portrait of hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk during a protest in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)

A supporter of the Cockroach Janta Party holds posters of Bhagat Singh, an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)

Supporters gather at the camping site of the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)

NEW YORK (AP) — More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom are carrying Wall Street higher on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 219 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.

AI stocks were once again at the center of the action, and they were rising for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.

After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also rising that AI investments may fall off if they don’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.

Micron Technology jumped 7.8% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week.

Nvidia added 1.5% after disclosing that it owns 9.3% of the stock of Nebius, a Dutch AI cloud company. Nvidia and Micron were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil topped $90 per barrel because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It rose 1.9% to $90.92, up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran began.

The rise in oil prices is threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as it was slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62% from 4.60% late Monday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

On Wall Street, several stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to rise even with that added pressure.

3M climbed 8.7% after topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.

Hasbro jumped 11.6% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year.

They helped offset a drop for Danaher, which slid 13.9% even though it likewise topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue. Analysts pointed to its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue growth for the summer, which was slower than Wall Street expected.

Companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profit and revenue because of how high their stock prices have shot. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe amid mostly modest movements. The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted his first Cabinet meeting.

In Asia, stocks swung more. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.6% on strong gains for its two dominant stocks. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been big beneficiaries of the AI boom, and the Kospi has soared 60% so far this year even though it’s dropped 20% in July.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 3.3% after returning from Monday’s holiday, while indexes rose 1.8% in Shanghai and edged down by less than 0.1% in Hong Kong.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

An employee walks past near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) are placed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)