NEW DELHI (AP) — The food keeps coming almost as fast as the protesters themselves.
Every few minutes, motorbike delivery riders pull up to the protest site carrying bags filled with burgers, snacks, and bottled water. Volunteers gather the deliveries, organize them alongside other donated goods, and pass them out to the demonstrators gathered there.
People from all over India are helping keep the country’s “Cockroach” movement going by placing meal orders through online delivery apps and sending them directly to protesters at the camp in the nation’s capital. The constant flow of food has become a powerful symbol of the widening support for a youth-driven movement that has become one of the most significant challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in recent memory.
Many of those placing the food orders have never visited the protest site and have no personal connection to one another. They simply place orders and direct delivery riders to hand the food to any protester they encounter.
Shakti Vashisth, 24, views every arriving delivery as proof that the movement reaches far beyond those physically present at the camp. Each meal, she explained, represents solidarity from someone who is unable to show up in person.
“There are a lot of people that I can understand might not be able to come here, but they are sending their love,” she said.
The “Cockroach” movement originally took shape in response to repeated leaks of high-stakes medical college and government job entrance exams — incidents that even drove some individuals to suicide. It has since grown into a broader push for government accountability, drawing thousands of demonstrators to Jantar Mantar, a designated protest space in New Delhi that has become the movement’s central gathering point.
Protesters have refused to leave despite a significant crackdown on Monday, when police deployed tear gas and batons to prevent marchers from reaching Parliament. That show of force only intensified public anger, and the crowds have since grown to include not just students but also young professionals, parents, and others who have joined the ongoing sit-in.
With the crowd expanding, keeping everyone fed has become a real challenge — and the donations are helping meet that need. Volunteers distribute everything from traditional home-cooked Indian meals to pizza, burgers, and other fast food, along with bottles of water.
The response has been so large that protest organizers have started asking supporters to hold off on additional food orders, saying donations are now outpacing the number of people at the site.
“The amount of food coming in is overwhelming. It’s difficult to even keep count,” said Bhoomi Kapoor, a volunteer at the camp.
Motorbike courier Neg Singh said he had already completed 19 trips to the protest site. During one delivery run, he transported 70 pizzas — an order so large it required three riders to carry it through the crowd. That particular order came from a customer in Noida city, roughly 25 kilometers, or about 15.5 miles, away from the protest location.
For Singh, the experience has been about more than just added business. It has drawn him into the cause itself.
“We also feel deeply connected to this protest. We support it wholeheartedly,” he said.
