India's frustrated students find a symbol: the cockroach

NPR | By Diaa Hadid

Published June 6, 2026 at 5:05 PM EDT

Young Indians frustrated by unemployment and exam scandals are rallying behind an unusual symbol: the cockroach. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from New Delhi.

NPR News

Diaa Hadid

Diaa Hadid chiefly covers Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News. She is based in NPR's bureau in Islamabad. There, Hadid and her team were awarded a Murrow in 2019 for hard news for their story on why abortion rates in Pakistan are among the highest in the world.

See stories by Diaa Hadid

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