This must have taken the wind completely out of the sails of the ruling dispensation.
For years they had a favourite weapon. It was ridicule. Every speech, every television discussion, every social media exchange seemed to contain the same word aimed at the opposition leader. “Pappu.”
It was repeated so often that it became part of the political landscape.
Then along comes a new political party and calls itself something far worse.
Cockroaches.
Imagine the panic.
Somewhere in their strategy room, political advisers must have looked at one another helplessly.
“Sir, we have a problem. The new party calls itself Cockroach.”
The smile disappears.
Because what do you do when people take away your ability to insult them?
Perhaps there is a lesson here, not just for politicians, but for all of us.
Most people spend a great part of their lives worrying about what others think of them. We are terrified of criticism. We are wounded by insults. We lose sleep because somebody made a joke about us at a party, in the office, or on social media.
Yet the people who are hardest to defeat are often those who have learned to laugh at themselves.
The man who jokes about his bald head takes away everybody else’s joke. The woman who laughs at her own mistakes removes the sting from criticism. The person who can smile when insulted often ends up looking far stronger than the person doing the insulting.
And then another thought crossed my mind.
What are these cockroaches going to call these old, old men in a few years?
The same people who spent years laughing at others may suddenly find themselves being laughed at by a younger generation.
I wonder whether they will enjoy it. I wonder whether they will take the jeers and sneers with the same enthusiasm with which they handed them out.
I wonder whether they will smile when youngsters create nicknames for them.
Or will they discover that ridicule is much more entertaining when you are throwing it than when you are receiving it?
The mockers eventually become the mocked.
As for the cockroach, it remains one of the most resilient creatures on earth.
It survives floods, droughts, pesticides, traps, slippers, and every attempt to eliminate it.
Long after more glamorous creatures have disappeared, the cockroach is still marching confidently across the floor as if it owns the building.
Perhaps that is exactly the message these young political activists are sending.
“Call us what you like. Laugh if you want. Mock us if it makes you happy. We are still here.”
And who knows?
A few years from now, while the old political warriors are wondering what embarrassing nickname has been invented for them, the cockroaches may still be crawling steadily forward, quietly having the last laugh…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
I love the cockroach analogy. The creature which can stay strong against any adversity. The symbol of the survival instinct. Loved the narrative flow.
I do wish they become a potent force in the days ahead to be feared and respected
There’s no remorse whatsoever from the PM to judiciary for not just ridiculing someone as cockroaches but the horrendous impacts of dishonest governance.
On the other side, their ‘samarthaks’ are still applauding and absorbing all absurdities by the government, which is more worrisome!
Why does the PM need to show remorse? He did not say the word . The CJI did, and if any one cares to refer to the original mention by him they will realise that he did nto call ALL the youth cockroaches, only those who misused the system. Mr. Dipke was clever enough to see the opportunity and grab it.
We are in a situation in which we really don’t know who stands where. The supporters of the Cockroach Party to a large extent are genuine but the conveners are another matter entirely. History of the organisers, police permission, tolerance of the govt all raise questions and to add to the confusion the dust thrown up by many political commentators most who pretend to be experts. As my doctor says “let’s wait and watch”
Out of the reported 10 million followers on Instagram, apparently more than half are from Pakistan and Bangladesh. What does this show ? That this entire show is an organised hoopla of the International anti India lobby.
I googled what good a cockroach can do and was pleasantly surprised. Its a nutrient recycler for soil & trees, a food source, a helper in waste management & its brain is studied by researchers as its resilient. So transferring the analogy to the new political party, they could do a lot of good if they stay true to their goals of being cockroaches in the current situation
“Yet the people who are hardest to defeat are often those who have learned to laugh at themselves.”
This is the best line and so very true.
Cockroaches driving home moral!Well written.
Let’s get the facts straight.
RaGa has more than once called himself Pappu.
Ridicule is of more than one type. Some is harmless fun …like Pappu. But the other is disrespectful and malevolent… like RaGa calling Modi and Shah “Gaddar” or Traitors. Every body is throwing epithets at everybody else. Not a big deal.
Any hopes anybody had that this revolutionary and emergent new force would, anytime soon, overwhelm and overturn the political set up in Delhi, would have been dashed because not even 500 followers out of the 10 million who joined the party online turned up for their Jantar Mantar protest. From the live TV coverage, its seems a large majority of those present turned out to be either members of the media or just curious onlookers.
And finally, as far as the hardiness and survivability of the Gen Z cockroaches is concerned, chief cockroach Abhijeet Dipke wilted under Delhi’s heat within a couple of hours and had to be whisked away in an air conditioned car – probably to his 5 star hotel room.
The protest fizzled out by 3.00 pm, two hours before their deadline for the education minister to resign.
How sad. : (
May their Tribe increase! 🪳
Waiting for the cockroaches to crawl over the old wrapped men and change this country into a better world for you and me !!!
Long for the day when the mockers become the mocked!