Millions of young Indians are following the Cockroach Janta Party Instagram account, symbolic of growing frustration towards the current political system. Meanwhile, Delhi sizzles at 46 degrees Celsius. DW has more
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This blog is now closed, but are the some of the main headlines that got India talking on Thursday, May 21:
We’re off to cool down, but will be back on Friday with more news and views from India!
An extreme heat wave in India has pushed temperatures beyond 45 degrees Celsius, putting increasing pressure on water supplies, energy and the health of millions of people.
New Delhi and Adis Ababa have decided to delay the India-Africa Forum Summit scheduled for May 28-31 in New Delhi, in view of the Ebola outbreak on the African continent.
A joint press statement released by India’s Foreign Ministry and the African Union on Thursday, said that the two sides had exchanged views on the evolving health situation in parts of Africa.
“Following these consultations, the two sides agreed that it would be advisable to convene the Fourth India–Africa Forum Summit at a later date,” the statement said.
“New dates for the summit and its associated meetings will be finalized through mutual consultations and communicated in due course,” it added.
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An Air India flight from Delhi to Bengaluru suffered a “tailstrike” while landing on Thursday, prompting an investigation.
A tailstrike is when an airplane’s tail or the rear underside makes contact with the ground while taking off or landing. This generally happens due to human error, when the aircraft’s nose is angled too sharply or if the landing is not adequately controlled.
“The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew disembarked normally. The aircraft has been grounded for detailed inspection,” an Air India spokesperson said, according to news agency ANI.
“As a result, the return flight AI2652 from Bengaluru to Delhi has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate affected passengers at the earliest,” they said.
Media reports suggested the flight experienced turbulence while approaching landing, prompting the pilot to execute a go-around maneuver. It was during this that the tailstrike took place.
In 2023, India’s aviation regulator imposed a fine on the nation’s largest airline, IndiGo, in response to frequent tail strike incidents.
India’s Health Ministry on Thursday issued an advisory for passengers arriving from or transiting through the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak. The document was shared by the Delhi International Airport’s X handle.
“Passengers who have traveled from countries reporting Ebola disease — DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan (high risk country) — and are experiencing any of the following symptoms must take immediate action,” the advisory read.
The symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, unexplained bleeding and sore throat. Passengers with any of these were asked to report to the airport’s health desk before immigration clearance.
It also includes passengers who may have had direct contact with persons “suspected or confirmed to have Ebola.”
“Any traveler developing the above symptoms within 21 days of arrival should immediately seek medical care and inform healthcare authorities about their travel history,” it said.
The Ebola outbreak in DRC was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The death toll has risen to over 130, with an additional 600 suspected cases. One of those deaths took place in the neighboring country of Uganda.
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India is considering several steps to counter the depreciation of the rupee, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, without elaborating what those steps were.
The rupee has hit successive lows, depreciating more than 6% against the US dollar since the Iran war began. It is Asia’s worst performing currency in 2026, so far. The weaker rupee has impacted importers, industries and students considering an education abroad.
“We are monitoring the situation … and several steps are under consideration. The situation is globally quite challenging,” Goyal said.
India’s Central Bank has already poured billions of dollars into stabilizing the currency, banned speculative trading, and extended a special credit line to oil importers to deal with the shortage of the US dollars.
India’s current account deficit has widened as it imports oil at higher prices. With the outflow of the US dollars — the world’s primary reserve currency — far exceeding its inflow through exports and foreign remittances, the central bank has significantly depleted its reserves.
Hours after the Cockroach Janta Party overtook PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party on Instagram, it faced a setback on a different social media platform.
The satirical party, which is now turning into a youth-led movement against the BJP, said its X account, ‘CPJ_2029’ was “banned in India.”
Founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a screenshot of the blocked account. “As expected, Cockroach Janta Party’s account has been withheld in India,” he said.
On Instagram, Dipke urged his over 10 million followers to protest against the move. “We hadn’t written anything wrong. We only demanded the resignation of the (education) minister because a student has committed suicide. We only want accountability. What kind of a democracy is this?” he said in a video message.
Dipke and the CJP had been demanding the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after a massive all-India pre-medical entrance exam was canceled due to allegations of leaked papers.
The high-pressure exam is set to be reconducted in June, but students across India have been impacted by the developments. As per Indian media reports, at least two students have committed suicide due to the cancelation.
Dipke had earlier reported that he was fending off attempts to hack into the CJP’s Instagram account.
India has a legal framework that allows the government to intervene directly in online content by ordering platforms to remove or block content on grounds such as national security or public order.
These directives are legally binding but are not made public.
The Times of India on Thursday reported that the operator of an auto rickshaw was found dead in the city of Prayagraj. Police investigations revealed that he had died of heatstroke, the report said.
In 2025, the non-profit organization HeatWatch recorded at least 2,287 cases of heat-related illnesses across India between months of February and July. The study also found that 84 people had died of heatstroke in the same time period and that the cases were likely underreported.
Based on data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, news agency PTI reported nearly 7,200 suspected cases of heatstrokes and 14 related deaths between March and June 24 of 2025.
News outlet NDTV on Thursday reported that several heat-relief vans operated by the local government had been seen across Delhi, distributing caps, cold water, and electrolytes to the public.
While the weather agency has advised people to stay out of the sun, that is not an option for many. Indian media have long reported on the plight of construction workers, service providers, local vendors, and public transport drivers who live on daily wages.
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Roads and markets in several cities across northern and central India stood nearly empty as a severe heatwave gripped the nation. Other cities moved to provide relief to its residents.
India’s national weather agency said temperatures in New Delhi hit 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday and will remain at about 45 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
The India Meteorological Department warned of severe heat waves across northwestern, central, and eastern India for the next five days, asking residents to stay alert for heat-related illnesses.
Heat waves are a common accurance across India in the months of summer but experts say temperatures have been steadily rising due to climate change.
Shares of Parle Industries surged 5% on the Indian stock markets on Wednesday and Thursday, hitting the upper circuit, as Indian Investors responded to a viral exchange between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni.
In a light-hearted video, Meloni had thanked the Indian prime minister for gifting her a pack of chocolate toffees called “Melody,” on Wednesday.
It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to a recurring social media trend that pairs Modi and Meloni romantically, with the so-called couple name: “Melodi.”
The twist? Parle Industries has nothing to do with the chocolate toffee, which is produced by a privately held company named Parle Products.
The former is an infrastructure, real estate, and recycling company. While it was once promoted by the family that now produces the chocolates, it has long been run independently of them.
New Delhi and Rome have elevated their diplomatic ties to a “special strategic partnership,” after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart.
“Today, here in Rome, we are elevating our relationship to the level of a special strategic partnership — the highest ever achieved in relations between our two nations,” Meloni said following the talks held at the Villa Pamphili, a 17th-century villa where foreign leaders are often officially received.
“We can say without fear of contradiction that Italy and India are now closer than ever, and that our relations are now in a position to realise their full potential,” added Meloni.
As part of an agreement, India and Italy will aim to raise bilateral trade to €20 billion ($23 billion) over the next three years.
Italy is currently India’s fourth-largest trading partner in the EU. In 2025, bilateral trade between the two countries reached €14.25 billion.
On the other hand, India has become Italy’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, after China, according to Italy’s foreign affairs ministry.
This was Modi’s first visit to Italy for bilateral talks and the third trip overall. It was the last leg of the Indian premier’s five-nation tour, which began on May 15 and saw him visit the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway before landing in Rome.
A parody political party, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), gathered millions of followers within 24 hours on Meta-owned social media platform Instagram to overtake theworld’s largest political party — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)
The CJP had less than a million followers on Tuesday which quickly grew to over three million followers on Wednesday morning and more than 10.8 million followers on Thursday. That’s higher than the 8.7 million people following the BJP on the platform.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am today. We are just hours away from overtaking the world’s largest party on Instagram,” CJP’s founder Abhijeet Dipke said in a post on Wednesday evening.
“You are about to make history,” he said, saluting India’s youth for “bringing the BJP to their knees in just four days.”
“Think of what else you can do,” he said.
It all began on May 15 when the Chief Justice of India criticized India’s youth — likening some of them to “parasites” and “cockroaches” — while speaking about fake degrees at a case hearing.
“There are youngsters like cockroaches who do not get any employment…some of them become media, some become social media, some RTI activists, and they start attacking everyone,” he had said.
Within a day, Dipke asked, “What if all cockroaches come together?”
Up came the parody website with a five-point manifesto, promising to clamp down on corruption, inter-party defection and increasing women representation in the Indian parliament. Eligibility criteria to join the parody party includes laziness, unemployment and a chronic presence online.
The CJP is currently headquartered at “wherever the wifi works.”
DW has reached out to BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi ,who is yet to respond to our queries. We will update you if and when she does.
DW Reporter Shalu Yadav spoke to the man who created the Cockroach Janta Party.
Abhijeet Dipke told DW that while the movement came out of one, it was “no longer a satire or a joke.”
“It’s getting pretty serious,” he had said.
Watch the full report here:
Good morning! and welcome to DW’s India news blog.
This is Mahima Kapoor from the New Delhi bureau and I will bring to you the hottest news stories (quite literally) from the country.
Much of northwest, central and east India is facing heatwaves this week with India’s weather agency issuing warnings for people to stay out of the sun and remain hyderated. Schools in the national capital have extended summer vacations to keep children safe and authorities have installed relief vans across the city to aid people with caps and cold water.
As Indians try to stay indoors, millions of youth have found a new purpose online in the Cockroach Janta Party. A satirical account meant to criticize the authorities for growing unemployment and online censorship, the CJP has zoomed past Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded bilaterial talks in Italy, prompting New Delhi and Rome to upgrade their diplomatic ties to a “Special Strategic Partnership.”
I will give you details and context for all of that, and more. Stay tuned!
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