Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recently found himself at the center of controversy after remarks made during a Supreme Court hearing triggered anger across social media and among many ordinary citizens, activists, and youth. The comments came during the hearing of a petition filed by a lawyer challenging the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant him senior advocate designation and questioning the selection process. During the hearing, the court criticized what it described as people attacking institutions and referred to “parasites” within the system.

It was during this hearing that the remarks were made:

“There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment and don’t have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone.”

These words spread rapidly across the internet. For many, this did not sound like criticism of a few individuals with fake credentials. It sounded personal. It sounded like an attack on a generation already struggling with unemployment, rising competition, shrinking opportunities, expensive education, and a system that often feels impossible to navigate.

And that is where the problem begins.

Because when someone sitting in one of the highest constitutional positions in the country uses words like cockroaches and parasites for any section of people — particularly while mentioning unemployed youth, activists, media, RTI workers, and social media voices — it raises uncomfortable questions.

“There are people like chameleons, who get employment, comfort, and secure places within the system, changing their colors according to the system, adapting themselves to authority, and making decisions accordingly to fit and survive within it. Some of them become media voices, some become officers, government officials, advisors, power brokers, or politicians, and many rise to influential positions where they begin speaking the language of the system rather than their own conscience. Instead of questioning what is broken, they often defend it, protecting structures that benefit a few at the top while ordinary citizens struggle below. Safe in secure positions, they speak of sacrifice without uncertainty, of patience without pressure, and sometimes end up attacking or dismissing the very citizens whose struggles reveal the failures of the institutions they represent. In the eyes of many frustrated people, the system has not failed because citizens questioned it — the system is being questioned because too many citizens feel it has already failed them.”

Who Failed Them?

If young people are unemployed, frustrated, or angry, should the blame fall entirely on them?

Or should we first ask: Who built the system they inherited?

India’s youth did not create unemployment. They did not create broken recruitment systems, paper leaks, delayed exams, corruption allegations, underfunded government schools, rising privatization, expensive education loans, or shrinking job security.

The truth many citizens are expressing is simple: if there are unemployed young people feeling lost, then perhaps this reflects not an individual failure but a failure of institutions — political, educational, economic, and judicial.

People are asking:

• Why are there not enough quality jobs?
• Why do talented graduates remain unemployed for years?
• Why is education sytem is not being changed and is becoming increasingly expensive?
• Why are many schools and colleges run like businesses focused on profit?
• Why do students prepare endlessly for exams only to face cancellations, leaks, delays, or uncertainty?

If there is anger among the youth, perhaps that anger did not emerge from nowhere.

Perhaps it emerged from years of feeling unheard.

• If activists raise difficult questions, organize protests, or challenge institutions, should they automatically be dismissed as troublemakers? Or should society ask whether unresolved public grievances, inequality, accountability concerns, or ignored voices created the conditions that gave rise to activism in the first place? Often, activism emerges where people feel unheard.
  
• If sections of the media become highly critical, investigative, or confrontational, should criticism itself be seen as the problem? Or should society ask what public concerns, unanswered questions, or institutional failures are driving citizens to seek scrutiny and accountability? A questioning media often reflects issues already being discussed by society.
  
• If RTI workers continue asking uncomfortable questions, seeking documents, or demanding transparency, should suspicion fall on those asking questions — or should society ask why citizens feel compelled to fight for information in the first place? RTI efforts often emerge from the belief that accountability strengthens institutions, not weakens them.
  
• If social media is filled with frustration, criticism, and public anger, should all voices be dismissed as negativity? Or should society ask why so many citizens increasingly feel that online platforms are the only place where they are finally heard? Sometimes, social media becomes a mirror reflecting concerns that remained ignored elsewhere.

The Clarification: Too Late or Misunderstood?

After backlash exploded online, CJI Surya Kant issued a clarification stating that a section of the media had misquoted his remarks and that his comments were not directed at Indian youth, but at individuals entering professions using “fake and bogus degrees.” According to him, his observations made during the hearing had been taken out of context and misunderstood.

The full clarification stated:

“Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issues clarification on statement on youth, says a section of media misquoted him.

‘I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday. What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites. It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation. Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth have great regard and respect for me, and I too see them as the pillars of a developed India.’”

He emphasized that he had not criticized the youth of the country and instead described them as an inspiration and the “pillars of a developed India.” However, the clarification did not fully address the emotional reaction triggered by the original language.

Because people are asking:

• If fake degrees are the concern, then where is the accountability?
• Who are the powerful people in politics, bureaucracy, institutions, or leadership accused of fake educational claims? What actions are being taken against them?
• Why should scrutiny stop only at ordinary citizens or struggling professionals?
• These are political and civic questions many people are openly debating.

“We are pained to see how a person sitting in one of the highest judicial positions of the country made observations – whether knowingly or unknowingly, that many citizens felt revealed how sections of the youth and ordinary people are viewed within the system. Rather than only speaking about fake degrees, people are asking: what actions are being taken to address fake qualifications, corruption, and lack of accountability across all professions — including politics, education, bureaucracy, media, and even institutions of justice? when highly educated people in powerful positions remain silent about systemic failures or fail to act against them, they too become part of the problem. It is totally baseless to suggest that citizens questioning the system are against the nation. Not only are we proud of our present and future leaders, but we also believe leadership carries responsibility. Every youth of India inspires hope because despite unemployment, inequality, and uncertainty, they continue to survive, adapt, and strive for better lives. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth deserve great regard and respect, and we too see them as the true pillars of a developing India. We are not against the country — we are against the failures of a system that continues to hold India back from becoming the developed country its people dream of, often through people in positions of power who have the authority to bring change, yet seem unable or unwilling to act.”

The System Is a Drainage”: A Harsh Metaphor, But Why Does It Resonate?

Many angry reactions online argued that if the system resembles a ‘drainage’ or a broken gutter, then naturally people surviving inside it will adapt however they can, if the environment feels like a drainage system, then it becomes natural for citizens to survive like cockroaches or parasites, adapting to difficult conditions, competing for scraps of opportunity, and learning to survive within what they perceive as a broken structure. The comparison is emotional, controversial, and deeply uncomfortable, but for many it reflects years of accumulated frustration.

The criticism being voiced is that when opportunities are scarce, jobs are limited, social mobility feels blocked, and institutions appear distant or inaccessible, people do whatever they can to survive. Some turn to activism, some become RTI campaigners, some move toward independent journalism, while others build careers through social media, content creation, freelancing, entrepreneurship, or influencing because traditional systems failed to absorb or recognize their potential. For many young people, these are not simply career choices but survival mechanisms in a system they feel has left them behind. And for others, the answer becomes migration — leaving India entirely in search of opportunities, recognition, and fairer systems elsewhere.”

A Psychological Message to Youth?

The language matters, especially when it comes from positions of authority. When questioning voices are described as “parasites” or compared to insects, it risks being interpreted not merely as criticism of certain individuals but as a broader dismissal of dissent itself. This concern becomes more significant in a time when much of today’s youth activism — around unemployment, exam systems, corruption allegations, transparency, governance, and public accountability — takes place through digital spaces.

For many young Indians, social media has become the loudspeaker of people who feel unheard by traditional institutions. In this context, questioning the system should not automatically be seen as hostility toward the nation. To many, criticism of institutions is not hatred for the country but concern for its future, and raising uncomfortable questions is not always an attack on India — sometimes, it is an attempt to improve it.

And Yet, The Youth Continue

Here lies the irony: despite unemployment, uncertainty, intense competition, and repeated disappointments, India’s youth continue to move forward. They continue studying, competing, surviving, building careers, launching startups, supporting families, and preparing for government jobs even after years of delays, failures, and uncertainty. That itself says something remarkable.

Many young Indians persist despite unequal opportunities, poor infrastructure, economic pressure, social expectations, and an environment that often feels stacked against them. Yet they adapt, innovate, and survive. In fact, many people online turned the metaphor around, arguing that if Indian youth are “adaptable,” it is not because they are weak or incapable, but because they are resilient enough to survive in difficult circumstances and still find ways to move ahead.

A Message to the Youth

My so called Lord, Don’t try to kill the cockroach — it has already learned to survive in this drainage system. It has adapted to uncertainty, pressure, unemployment, and struggle. But if those who have been forced to simply survive begin to rise, question, participate, and work toward change, then perhaps a transformation can happen. Don’t try to silence our voices, enough is enough. A system that many see as broken can one day change into something cleaner, fairer, and more accountable — turning what feels like drainage into clean water. What some dismiss today may become the very force that transforms the future. And perhaps, sooner than many expect, the country will witness a revolution — driven by citizens who decide to question, engage, and work for change. Just wait and see.”