P B Mehta writes: ‘Cockroaches’ have shown us what it means to be courageous citizens — not subjects

NewsOpinionColumnsP B Mehta writes: ‘Cockroaches’ have shown us what it means to be courageous citizens — not subjects The farmers’ agitation had made the government withdraw legislation. But this is the first time that the government has acknowledged the need for taking responsibility and being held accountable An ill-considered word, “cockroach”, used by a Chief Justice of India who has been emblematic of the singularly bad judgment and institutional degradation that marks Indian public life, gave the young an unlikely political identity. 6 min readJul 26, 2026 12:20 PM IST First published on: Jul 26, 2026 at 12:20 PM IST There are glorious moments when the youth of the nation demonstrate that they are indeed the genuine trustees of posterity, to borrow Benjamin Disraeli’s phrase. A gene