The advent of a new personality in India’s political landscape, Abhijit Dipke, a 24-year-old Dalit belonging to the Mahar sub-caste, the same as Dalit messiah and architect of the Constitution Babasaheb Ambedkar, from Aurangabad in Marathwada, now studying in Boston, provides a new twist to Dalit politics in the country. Ironically, in a country where Dalits, particularly politicians and groups, wear their caste identity on their sleeves, his Dalit background was revealed almost accidentally in an interview when he was asked whether he supported reservations for scheduled castes and tribes. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder startled his interviewer by casually mentioning that he himself was a Dalit and the only reason why his father could become the lone engineer from their village was through the reservation policy.

However, as the fame of Dipke and his CJP grew in leaps and bounds with every passing day, he pointedly refrained from Dalit politics, choosing instead to emphasise the woes and anger of unemployed youth at being insulted as cockroaches by the country’s Chief Justice, Surya Kant. Soon, he focused on the dual scandal in Indian education with the shocking nationwide paper leak for the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, followed by appalling digital security lapses and grading controversies in the CBSE board examinations, jeopardising the future of millions of students. Sensing a receptive audience among the youth in the country, Dipke, who happened to be Dalit, demanded accountability in the concrete shape of the........

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