Indian youth protesters end rallies after education minister resigns

Indian youth leaders ended weeks of demonstrations on Saturday (July 25) after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government agreed to demands arising from a leaked national medical entrance examination.

The decision brought an abrupt close to a confrontation that had intensified earlier in the week, when thousands of demonstrators marched towards parliament and police used tear gas. The unrest presented Modi with the most serious youth-led challenge of his third term in office.

The movement, known as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began organising protests in late June after an entrance test paper leaked in May. Authorities cancelled the results and ordered about two million students to sit the examination again, fuelling wider frustration over limited employment opportunities and government accountability.

Police cases and compensation included in deal

Health Minister JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in Modi’s office, met CJP representatives after Pradhan’s resignation. Nadda announced that the government had accepted the protesters’ full set of demands.

The agreement covers changes to the examination system, the withdrawal of police cases filed against demonstrators and compensation for families bereaved following the exam paper leaks.

CJP spokesmen Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka subsequently announced that the movement was ending its campaign in good faith. They asked supporters to leave the protest site and return home peacefully, while CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke told the crowd: “We have done it.”

Opposition parties had backed the protesters’ demands and disrupted parliament’s monsoon session throughout the week, putting planned government legislation at risk. Images of police using tear gas also heightened public anger, although authorities maintained that officers had acted to enforce the law.

Central Delhi restrictions lifted after celebrations

Thousands gathered at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi to celebrate the resignation, chanting patriotic slogans, dancing and distributing sweets as the national anthem played. Roads near the Connaught Place commercial district were closed as the crowd grew.

Federal authorities restored mobile internet access around the protest site after restricting it for most of the week. Delhi Metro stations in and around the area also reopened after being closed for much of the previous four days.

Pradhan announced his departure in a post on X, saying he had submitted his resignation to prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the unrest. He also acknowledged what he described as the legitimate expectations and aspirations of India’s young people.

Rare ministerial exit raises stakes for BJP

Pradhan’s resignation marked an unusual concession from Modi, who has built a reputation for resisting pressure from protest movements. Young voters form an important part of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral base, and the party faces several significant state elections next year.

The unrest also unfolded after youth-led movements brought down governments in neighbouring Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh in recent years, adding to the political weight of the demonstrations in India.

Pradhan, 57, had served as education minister since 2021 and had previously been discussed as a possible future BJP president. He became only the second minister to leave office following a scandal since Modi became prime minister in 2014. Junior foreign minister MJ Akbar resigned in 2018 to contest sexual-harassment allegations made against him during India’s #MeToo movement.

Source: Reuters