The cockroach phenomenon | Cockroach Janta Party

A spectre is haunting India. The spectre of…er, revolution? No, just a revolting insect. Not even the real thing. The figurative version, etched in countless online posts, arriving at the gates of the republic in an insurrection of laughter. Irreverent, satirical, youthful laughter. What is it exactly? Well, it has a parodic name: the Cockroach Janta Party, which brought on the quasi-formal short form, CJP. A political party, then? No, not in the formal sense. Going by the latest updates, it remains more a party of the other sort, where you rave and rant. A chamber version could have been called an online laughter club. But this one metastasised dangerously, going so viral as to deliver a full-fledged pandemic of mirth before you could blink it.